Berlinische Galerie
First stop on your Berlin art tour
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The Berlinische Galerie houses one of Berlin's most important modern art collections, sitting by the former Berlin Wall between chic Mitte and cool Kreuzberg. Works encompass all media from photography to painting, installation to architecture, and digital artworks.
At the boundary between Mitte and Kreuzberg, you'll find one of Berlin's most important modern art collections. The Berlinische Galerie tells the story of modern art from 1840 onwards and puts on hot-ticket temporary exhibitions by Berlin's fiendishly productive artists. Works encompass all media from photography to painting, installation to architecture, and digital artworks. Dada and the Eastern European avant-garde are the main focus of the museum. You can also learn about the history of art in the once divided and now re-united German capital.
History and atmosphere of the museum
The Berlinische Galerie's collection is founded in the Berlin district of Charlottenburg in 1975, but the collection migrates many times during its history. From 1978 onwards it forms part of the New National Gallery, before becoming the 'Gallery of the 20th Century' at Bahnhof Zoo. In 1986, it moves to nearby Gropius Bau. Its final resting place is commissioned following its re-designation as a public collection in 1994, and is completed in 2004. The current museum is located on Alte Jakobstraße. Directly outside the museum entrance are several rows of letters in yellow boxes. Try to discover the names of the famous artists!
Experience 4,100 square metres of art stretching from Classical Modernism through to the most contemporary installations, encompassing the Expressionist, Dada and New Objectivity movements. Architecturally speaking, the museum is easy on the eye. Its central space is a former industrial hall and is now radiant in luminous white. Switch between the permanent exhibition Art in Berlin. 1880 to 1980 and the special exhibition The Dawn of Modernity. Celebrities from the Stadtmuseum Berlin. Above you floats a painter, amid a proliferation of brushstrokes, with a tangle of roots beneath. Or is it supposed to be an inverted tree? As a major gallery partner, the artist uses his works to turn perceptions of contemporary art on their head.
Reasons to visit the Berlinische Galerie
- Interdisciplinary collection of modern art in painting, photography and architecture with reference to Berlin
- Special exhibition Aufbruch in die Moderne. Prominence from the Stadtmuseum Berlin. With works by Lovis Corinth, Edvard Munch, Max Beckmann, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and many others
- Graphic collection, library and artist archive
- Children's design in the Bunter Jakob studio
- Changing special exhibitions of contemporary art
- Barrier-free offers and inclusive educational program
Art, culture and creativity around the corner
Just around the corner from the Berlinische Galerie is the Jewish Museum. The largest museum of its kind in Europe, here, you can learn everything about the German-Jewish history of the past 2,000 years. The famous historic landmark Checkpoint Charlie is also a short walk away. At the time of the Berlin Wall, the Allies' famous border crossing connects the American and Soviet sectors (today's Kreuzberg and Mitte). Nor is the Berlinische Galerie the only contemporary art gallery in the area. In the neighbourhood of Alte Jakobstraße, there's St. Agnes, a former Catholic church turned art gallery. The massive brutalist concrete structure is worth a visit for its architecture alone. On Oranienstraße, the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (nGbk) Berlin is one of the largest art associations in Germany. Discover up-and-coming artists in its exhibition room which hosts temporary performances and art projects.
Visiting the Berlinische Galerie
On Mondays most museums are closed - but not the Berlinische Galerie. And if you arrive on the first Monday of the month, you will also receive a discount. The Berlin Welcome Card also entitles you to discounts. Got a Berlin Museum Pass? You can get into the Berlinische Galerie for free! It is also free for children and visitors under the age of 18 to visit the museum. They are also invited to get creative in the museum's Bunter Jakob project space. School classes experience modern art through a variety of lenses and get up close to contemporary art in the project centre.
Reduced admission for schoolchildren, students, trainees, volunteers (FSJ, BFD), holders of an honorary service card, holders of a severely disabled pass and groups of 10 or more. Free admission for one recognised accompanying person.
The museum building, all exhibition rooms and Café Dix are wheelchair-accessible. Mobile seating and two folding wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge from the cloakroom. A tactile floor guidance system helps blind and visually impaired visitors find their way around and points out the ticket office, cloakroom, lift, toilets and the permanent exhibition on the first floor. You can also borrow a tactile room plan at the ticket desk. Furthermore, the Berlinische Galerie offers an inclusive audio guide to 17 works of art, which provides an overview of the permanent exhibition. Educational formats are tailored to the different needs of visitors with disabilities. These include tactile tours, guided tours & workshops in and with DGS, guided tours for and with people with learning difficulties. The educational formats are tailored to the different needs of visitors with disabilities.
Public transport & parking
The best underground stations from which to access the museum are Hallesches Tor (U1), Kochstraße (U6) and Moritzplatz (U8), which are each only a kilometre from the museum. Closer still are the M29 (Waldeckpark) and 248 (Jewish Museum) bus stops. Drivers will find visitors' parking lots behind the museum. There is also barrier-free disabled parking on-site.
