Museum Berggruen

Picasso, Klee, Matisse & Co.: The Berggruen Museum is home to the once private art collection of patron, Heinz Berggruen.

The Berggruen collection in Berlin-Charlottenburg is one of the most important art collections of classical modernism. Discover almost 200 impressive works by Pablo Picasso and Paul Klee. The Museum also presents paintings by Georges Braque and Paul Cézanne, as well as surrealist sculptures by the Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti. Serving as the backdrop is one of two classical guard barracks, designed by the architect Friedrich August Stüler in the 19th-century.

Exile and return: Heinz Berggruen and his collection

Shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, the future art patron and collector Heinz Berggruen is born in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. In the 1930s, this scion of a Jewish family is forced to emigrate by the Nazis. Berggruen heads to the United States but returns to Europe after the Second World War. He becomes a major art dealer in Paris and, after over 60 years of exile, returns to his home town in 1996. His private art collection is then brought to the reunited city, on permanent loan to the National Gallery. The Berlin Senate offers him a former officers' barracks located opposite Charlottenburg Palace and the Stüler building, to use as an exhibition venue. This neoclassical building, with its distinctive dome, is perfect as a home for the exquisite collection. Immediately upon entering, you are met by Giacometti's sculpture Large Standing Woman III, which appears to be a concierge welcoming guests. From here you can take the impressively elegant staircase, enhanced by a glass dome, to visit three floors where the collection Picasso and his World is shown. See highlights such as Seated Harlequin and House on a Hill in peaceful surroundings with bright rooms providing an intimate atmosphere in which to encounter the art works. Travel through a glass passageway to the Commander’s House which serves as an extension to the Berggruen Museum. Here you can view the works of the second-most important artist of the museum, Paul Klee. Exhibits include drawings like Gallows Humour and colour and design studies from his time at the Bauhaus, numbering 70 in total. Works by Impressionist Paul Cézanne and Fauvist Henri Matisse found here are also of great importance.

Highlights of the Berggruen Museum

• Over 120 paintings by Pablo Picasso – from his early to late works
• 70 works by Paul Klee including Den Fischen Läuten
• Sculptures by Alberto Giacometti including Stray Cats
• Works by Cézanne, Van Gogh, Braque, Matisse and a selection of African art objects
• Bettina Berggruen garden – with sculptures by the artist Thomas Schütte

More art treasures in Berlin-Charlottenburg

Continue your foray into the art world directly over the road at the East Stüler building where you can encounter Berlin State Mueums' Scharf-Gerstenberg collection. Discover artworks from more than 250 years of art history with focus onn surrealism including pieces by Francisco de Goya, Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst, among others. Next door, visit the cast collection of antique sculptures for a tour of sculpture technique. The first cast sculptures in Berlin are created under the Prussian King Friedrich I in the Academy of Arts. Cross the road again and you arrive at the Bröhan Museum. Here, next to the Berggruen Museum, art nouveau and art deco meet with modern design. The house presents functionalist pieces of furniture from the 1920s and 1930s and paintings of the Berlin secession movement. The Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf Museum within the Villa Oppenheim is located approximately 350 m to the south on Schloßstrasse. The museum presents the history of the neighbourhood through texts, recordings, still images and film. Visit for a journey through different eras over the past 300 years. Conclude your excursion at Charlottenburg Palace, a world of art and cultural history. The largest palace complex in Berlin, it is the former summer residence of the first Queen of Prussia, Sophie Charlotte. Be captivated by the orangery and the baroque façade, before entering to see the magnificent rooms and the famous porcelain cabinet. The concerts held here regularly are particularly popular.

Practical tips for the Berggruen Museum

You can access the museum from Westend S-Bahn station. From here, take the M45 bus to 'Schloss Charlottenburg'. From Sophie-Charlotte-Platz U-Bahn station take the 309 bus, while from Richard-Wagner-Platz U-Bahn station the M45 will take you to your destination. Charlottenburg S-Bahn station is connected to the Berggruen Museum by the 109 bus and you can take the M45 bus directly from Zoologischer Garten.

Information for your visit

When you purchase a ticket for the Berggruen Museum, you also get entry to all special exhibitions and to the Scharf- Gerstenberg collection. Admission is free for holders of a museum pass, as well as children and young people up to 18 years. You can access special guided tours for a fee without registration. Group tours are also available.

Opening hours