Berlin State Museum Collections Explained: What is Seen Where?

The names of the vast State Museums in Berlin hardly hint at what may be seen in the different buildings on Museumsinsel, Kulturforum, and beyond. The collections are better named but often spread through different museum buildings and exhibitions. This guide explains what is seen where, helping visitors pick the right museum for art, history, and archaeology.

The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (state or national museums) have some of the world’s largest and most important collections of art and cultural objects. The names of museums rarely reveal what can be seen inside: the antiquities in the Old Museum are newer than the Egyptian works in the New Museum. Bode Museum? It does not even mean anything particular in German — it is a surname. Hamburger Bahnhof / Hamburg Station? The last train departed in 1884. The names of the individual collections or the various museums grouped in a single building generally give a much better indication of what is on show.

Berlin Museum Quick Guide:

• Main themes: Art & Antiquities
• Where: mostly on Museum Island and in Kulturforum
• Best tickets: Day tickets for Kulturforum or Museum Island
• Best savings passes: Welcome Card Transport + Museum Island, Berlin Museums Pass
• Most popular museums: Neues Museum and Pergamon (closed until 4 June 2027)
• Top art galleries: Neue Nationalgalerie & Pictures Gallery

How much time do you need to see Berlin’s top museums? Average visitors spend nearly two hours at the Gemäldegalerie and Neues Museum, more than an hour at the Pergamon, Alte Nationalgalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Asian Art, Ethnology Museum, and Hamburger Bahnhof, and up to an hour at the smaller venues.

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Antiquities · Art · Nationalgalerie · Kulturforum · Museum Island · Humboldt Forum

Berlin State Museums and Collections

The vast collections of the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / SMB) may be divided into three broad categories:

• Art — predominantly European and Western paintings and sculptures
• Antiquities and cultural objects from Europe and the Near East
• Others, including ethnology, Asian Art, photography, and decorative arts.

The two major museum concentration areas are Museum Island and Kulturforum. Further museums are in the Humboldt Forum and elsewhere in Berlin.

Antiquities are mainly in the museums on Museum Island. Fine art is mostly on display in the galleries of the Kulturforum. But it is not that simple; the Nationalgalerie’s large art collection is spread across several museums and areas.

To see whole collections, more than one museum visit is often necessary. Combination day tickets for the Kulturforum, Museum Island (+Transportation), or the three-day Berlin Museum Pass are good value.

Main Art Collections of the Berlin State Museums

The Berlin State Museums’ extensive collections of European (or Western) paintings and sculptures are divided throughout the city. The largest concentrations are in Kulturforum, on Museumsinsel, and in the Hamburger Bahnhof:

• 13th to 18th-century paintings (Old Masters) are in the Gemäldegalerie (Paintings Gallery) at Kulturforum. One of the world’s top art collections.
• The long 19th-century paintings and sculptures are mostly in the Alte Nationalgalerie (Museumsinsel).
• Modern, 20th-century art is in the Neue Nationalgalerie (Kulturforum).
• Contemporary art is displayed in the Hamburger Bahnhof (Hauptbahnhof)
• Medieval to 18th-century sculptures are mostly in the Bode Museum (Museumsinsel).

Major non-European art and culture collections include Asian Art and Ethnology in the Humboldt Forum, Islamic art in the Pergamon, and Byzantine art in the Bode Museum.

Art Collections in Berlin — What is Seen in Which Museum?

Quick guide to the art collections of the Berlin State Museums:

Collections	Museum	Highlights
Paintings (Middle Ages to 18th century, especially German, Dutch, Flemish, Italian)	Gemäldegalerie	Amor Triumphant by Caravaggio, The Wine Glass by Vermeer Works by Rembrandt (16), Cranach (22), Dürer (7), Van Eyck (3)
Sculpture Collection (Middle Ages to 18th century)	Bode Museum	Riemenschneider woodcarvings, Gothic altars, Italian sculptures (incl. Donatello)
National Gallery (19th-century art)	Alte Nationalgalerie Friedrichswerdersche Kirche	Monk by the Sea and Abbey Among Oak Trees (Caspar David Friedrich), Im Wintergarten (Manet), Rodin sculptures, and the Prussian Princesses (Schadow)
National Gallery (20th-century art)	Neue Nationalgalerie	Gerhardt Richter, Major temporary exhibitions
National Gallery Berlin Contemporary	Hamburger Bahnhof	Joseph Beuys, Major temporary exhibitions
Kupferstichkabinett	Kulturforum	Prints and graphics from all ages
Islamic Art	Pergamon Museum	Mshatta palace facade, Alhambra ceiling, Aleppo Room
Byzantine Art	Bode Museum	Apsis mosaic from Ravenna
Asian Art	Asian Art Museum	Art from Japan, China, and the Indian subcontinent
Ethnology	Ethnology Museum	Benin Bronzes, African wood carvings

What Art is Seen in Which Nationalgalerie in Berlin?

Except for the Nationalgalerie, it is fairly clear which museums exhibit the different art collections. The Nationalgalerie’s origins in the 1860s were to collect contemporary art, but as the decades roll on, many artworks (and artists) have moved into “older” collections.

The growing Nationalgalerie collection, which includes art from the 19th century to the present, is currently divided and shown at the following venues:

• Alte Nationalgalerie (Museum Island): 19th-century paintings and sculptures (including German Romanticism and French Impressionists).
• Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (Museum Island): 19th-century sculptures (mostly artists with a strong Berlin connection).
• Neue Nationalgalerie (Kulturforum): 20th-century art, mostly up to around the 1970s. Due to the size of the collection, currently, until May 2027, only works from 1945 to 2000 are displayed in the permanent exhibition.
• Hamburger Bahnhof — contemporary art, works from the 1970s to the present, frequently changing temporary exhibitions. A mix of German and international artists.
• Berlin Modern (Kulturforum)(due to open around 2030) to display 20th-century art.
• Museum Berggruen Collection (Charlottenburg): a small but exquisite collection of classic modern art, including works by Picasso (120), Paul Klee (70), Matisse, and Giacometti.
• Collection Scharf-Gerstenberg (Charlottenburg): art of the fantastic and the art of Surrealism.

Where to See Antiquities in Berlin Museums

Berlin’s vast collections of antiquities and prehistoric treasures are spread through several collections, and these are often split between different museum buildings.

The main antiquity collections of the Berlin State Museums are:

Collections	Museum	Highlights
Pre & Early History	Neues Museum	Bronze Age with the Berlin Gold Hat Treasure of Priam
Egyptian Collection	Neues Museum	Bust of Nefertiti, Berlin Green Head
Classic Antiquities	Neues Museum Altes Museum Pergamon Museum	Xanten Youth Praying Boy, Rotunda, Berlin Goddess Pergamon Altar, Market Gate of Miletus, Mosaics
Near Eastern Art	Pergamon Museum	Ishtar Gate & Processional Way from Babylon
Numismatic Collection	Bode Museum Altes Museum	Coins and medals 1,400 Greek and Roman coins
Islamic Art	Pergamon Museum	Mshatta palace facade, Alhambra ceiling, Aleppo Room
Byzantine Art	Bode Museum	Apsis mosaic from Ravenna
Ethnology	Ethnology Museum	Boats from Polynesia, Benin Bronzes, African wood carvings

Where Are Antiquities Exhibited in Berlin

To see Berlin’s popular Antikensammlung (Collection of Antiquities), you’re best off buying a Museum Insel ticket or more. This impressive collection is spread through three museums: the Altes Museum, Neues Museum, and Pergamon Museum. Further temporary exhibitions are in the James Simon Gallery, which will eventually become the main entrance to Museum Island venues.

What antiquities are seen in which Berlin Museum? The answer is not that easy, but use the following as a rough guide:

• The bigger, the more likely it is in the Pergamon Museum.
• The more classical the civilization, the more likely you’ll see it in the Altes Museum. (Classic Greek, Etruscan, Roman sculptures and pottery.)
• Archaeological finds from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages and items from the Roman provinces are in the Neues Museum (together with the large Egyptian collection).

The Pergamon Museum is likely to be the most visited of the three, once it reopens on 4 June 2027. It is probably the Egyptian collections that make the Neues Museum far more popular than the Altes Museum.

Where in Berlin are the Top Museums Located

The largest concentrations of top state museums in Berlin are on Museum Island (especially antiquities) and in Kulturforum (mainly art). The Hamburger Bahnhof of Contemporary Art is near the Hauptbahnhof. Other smaller museums are further from the center and less popular.

Museumsinsel Berlin / Berlin’s Museum Island

The most famous and most important of Berlin’s museums are on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage-listed Museumsinsel (Museum Island) in the heart of Berlin Mitte.

Museum Island Berlin Tickets and Passes

The Museum Island Berlin museums include for tickets and hours the following museums:

• Pergamon Museum (closed until 4 June 2027)
• Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama Exhibition
• Neues Museum (New Museum)
• Altes Museum (Old Museum)
• Bode Museum
• Alte National Galerie (Old National Gallery)
• James Simon Gallery (temporary exhibitions)
• Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (just off Museum Island)

It is possible to buy entry tickets for individual museums online (or directly at the museums), but if you visit two museums on the same day, the Museum Island day pass is cheaper. The Welcome Card + Museuminsel covers the Museum Island museum and transportation for 72 h, while the Museum Pass Berlin covers all these museums, the Humboldt Forum, and over 30 Berlin museums for three days.

Humboldt Forum

The Asian Art and Ethnology Museums are physically on Museum Island, but these two state museums follow the opening hours and ticket regime of the Humboldt Forum (Berliner Schloss).

The museums and exhibitions in the rebuilt Berliner Schloss are not included in Museum Island tickets but in a separate Humboldt Forum day or two-day ticket, or the Berlin Museums Pass. [Note: Humboldt Forum is open on Mondays but closed on Tuesdays!]

Friedrichswerdersche Kirche is just off Museum Island and close to the Humboldt Forum, but it is included in Museumsinsel tickets and opening hours.

Kulturforum — State Museums in Berlin Tiergarten

The Kulturforum / Cultural Forum is a collection of purpose-built museums and cultural centers in the Tiergarten area near Potsdamer Platz. The focus here is on world-class collections of European art.

Kulturforum Day Tickets cover all the museums here and are usually cheaper than two individual museum or exhibition tickets:

• Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery) – European Old Masters and Italian Renaissance paintings.
• Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) — 20th-century art.
• Kunstgewerbemuseum (Decorative Arts)
• Musikinstrumenten-Museum (Musical Instruments)
• Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) and the Kunstbibliothek (Art Library) special exhibitions.

Most buildings here were erected during the Cold War, at a time when the reunification of Germany seemed impossible. In addition to the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin buildings, the area is also home to the Berliner Philharmonie.

How Much Time Do You Need to See Museums in Berlin

The following is a rough guide to the average visiting time to the top museums in Berlin. It is very easy to spend double this time, or more, in any of the collections. In the larger museums, fatigue will set in long before you’ve run out of exhibits.

Average visiting times for top museums in Berlin in minutes:

Museum	Time (minutes)	Notes
Gemäldegalerie	60 – 180	Museum fatigue will set in; at least two visits are needed to see the Italian, German, and the Low Countries
Pergamon Museum	60 – 90	Expect essential reservations when it reopens (4 June 2027)
Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama Exhibition	30 – 45	The Asisi painting places the Pergamon Altar in context, but spend most time in the real museums.
Neues Museum	90 – 120	The museum is big and the exhibitions are very diverse
Altes Museum	45 – 60	Smaller than the Neues and more focused
Alte Nationalgalerie	45 – 60	Add more time for major temporary exhibitions
Bode Museum	45 – 60	It is a large museum, but too specialized for some
Friedrichswerdersche Kirche	15 – 45	You can see the whole space from the entrance
Neue Nationalgalerie	60 – 90	Spend most time at the permanent lower floor exhibition
Hamburger Bahnhof	60 – 120	Depending on the temporary exhibition, some exhibitions use a very large space
Kupferstichkabinett	45 – 60	Prints and graphics needs close-up study
Asian Art Museum	60 – 90	Galleries are vast in the Humboldt Forum
Ethnology Museum	60 – 90	Galleries are vast and spread over several floors

Unfortunately, the Kulturforum and Museum Island day tickets, the Welcome Card + Museum Insel, and the Berlin Museums Pass allow only for single entries to each museum. Larger museums, especially the Gemäldegalerie and Neues Museum, are much easier to enjoy on two or three separate visits.