The Pergamon Museum in Berlin will be closed from 23 October 2023 and partly reopens in mid-2027 — some top items will be displayed in other museums and venues. Opening hours are extended from July 2023.
Berlin’s Pergamonmuseum on the Museumsinsel (Museum Island) will be closed completely to visitors on 23 October 2023. Some items will be on display elsewhere but the first section of the Pergamon Museum — the Hellenistic Hall including the Pergamon Altar — is expected to reopen in spring 2027. The full Pergamon Museum will only be open by the late 2030s but more exhibition areas are likely to reopen in phases earlier. Opening hours for the Pergamon Museum are extended by an hour or two daily from 1 July 2023. Buy time-slot reservation tickets online — reservations are essential and tickets sell out on especially weekends.
Longer Opening Hours for the Pergamon Museum in 2023
In preparation for the long renovation closure of the popular Pergamon Museum in Berlin from 23 October 2023, opening hours will be extended from summer 2023.
From 1 July 2023 until 22 October 2023, the opening hours of the Pergamon Museum are Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 19:00, closing at 20:00 on Thursday.
Until 30 June 2023, the opening hours of the Pergamon Museum are Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, closing at 20:00 on Thursday.
Time-slot reservation tickets are needed to see the Pergamonmuseum — timeslots are currently released only around four weeks in advance. Buy tickets as soon as possible, especially for visits on weekends.
Pergamon Altar and Hellenistic Hall in Berlin Closed until 2027
Construction work at the Pergamon Museum has been ongoing for several years and the building’s North Wing and the middle section should reopen in spring 2027.
The top attractions in this part of the new museum include:
- The Hellenistic Hall and the Pergamon Altar after which the museum is named. Some of the Greek sculptures are currently temporarily displayed in the Pergamon. Das Panorama.
- The middle section will continue to show large objects from the Antikensammlung (antiquities collection), such as the Ishtar Gate.
- The Museum fĂĽr Islamische Kunst (Islamic Art), with its new larger permanent exhibition, will be on view in the North Wing.
Pergamonmuseum Berlin Closed until mid-1930s
The second construction phase ‒ the restoration of the South Wing and the construction of a fourth wing — is due to start in 2024 and will in total take well over a decade. By the late 2030s, the Pergamon Museum should be connected to the Bode-Museum and the Neues Museum.
The building sections concerned house the currently still accessible Museum fĂĽr Islamische Kunst Kunst (Museum for Islamic Art), the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East), and the Miletus Hall, which belongs to the Antikensammlung (Collection of Classical Antiquities).
See Pergamon Objects while the Museum in Berlin is Closed
Some of the collections of the Pergamonmuseum will remain viewable while the museum building is closed:
Top sculptures and objects from the Antikensammlung will continue to be exhibited at Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama, located directly across from the Museumsinsel. The Vorderasiatisches Museum is preparing a new exhibition for this location, as the Greek sculptures are due to move back to the Pergamon Museum in 2025/2026.
Some of the outstanding individual objects from the Pergamonmuseum will be on loan to other museums in Berlin and around the world. For instance, an intervention at Hamburger Bahnhof and a thematic collaboration with the Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) are planned, and cooperation with the Louvre is in preparation.
As of winter 2023‒24, the current (future historical) permanent exhibition of the Vorderasiatisches Museum will also be available online as a virtual tour. While the building is closed, the Vorderasiatisches Museum also intends to move its objects from the main level to storage depots and intermediate sites for restoration. Large special exhibitions with international cooperation partners are now in preparation, including Das Zweistromland – die Wiege der Könige (Mesopotamia ‒ The Cradle of Kings).
Objects from the Museum für Islamische Kunst (Islamic Art) will not be on temporary display, as the museum will move to the new larger display halls of the Northwing due to open in 2027. The exhibits, some of which are permanently installed, will not only need to be dismantled and reinstalled at a new location during this period but also restored ‒ for instance, the Mshatta Façade, the Aleppo Room, and the Alhambra Cupola.
More on the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin)
Note: Most Berlin museums and similar sights are open in 2023. Timeslot reservations are essential for only the Alte Nationalgalerie, Gemäldegalerie, Neue Nationalgalerie, Neues Museum, Pergamon Museum (closed from 23 Oct 2023 until 2027!), and Das Panorama. Timeslots are released only around four weeks in advance. Tickets are available from GetYourGuide that seem to have timeslots available when SMB has already sold out — many passes or multi-museum tickets are again available. Individual museum ticket prices range from €6 to €14 (€20 for special exhibitions). Online tickets are skip-the-line — go directly to the gallery entrance to scan the code.
For more general information on the Berlin State Museums:
- Top National Museums and Galleries in Berlin (brief overview)
- Berlin State Museums: What Is Seen Where? (a short description of the collections in the different museums)
- Opening Hours of Berlin State Museums (2023).
- Ticket Prices for Berlin State Museums (prices for museums, temporary exhibitions, combination tickets, online time-slot reservations). Buying online from GetYourGuide is a lot simpler and costs the same as the official museum website. Timeslot reservations are essential for the most popular museums!
- Save with the Berlin Museum Pass – 30 museums (including all the SMB museums) in three days for €32 – a fantastic savings deal.
- Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (official website in German & English).
News & Temporary Exhibitions:
- Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2023 — overview, in the Kulturforum, in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museum Island, and the Museum of Photography.
- Both the Ethnological and Asian Art museums in the Humboldt Forum (Berlin Schloss) are now fully open — admission to both is still free and currently without the need to book a timeslot.
- The Gemäldegallerie is partly closed until September 2023 but at least 75% is open at any given time.
- The Pergamon Museum will be closed completely from 23 October 2023 and partly reopen only in spring 2027 (with the rest to follow by the mid to late 2030s).
More Museums Reviews and Museum-Specific Information:
- Alte Nationalgalerie with Caspar David Friedrich paintings.
- Altes Museum with Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art.
- Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldtforum.
- Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (free admission) with a collection of 19th-century German sculptures.
- Gemäldegalerie with its collection of German and Dutch Old Masters and Italian paintings.
- Kunstgewerbemuseum (Decorative Arts)
- Musical Instruments Museum near the Berliner Philharmonie.
- Neue Nationalgalerie with early 20th-century art and Alexander Calder exhibitions.
- Neues Museum with bust of Nefertiti.
- Pergamon Museum with Ishtar Gate — the whole Pergamonmuseum will be closed from 23 October 2023 until 2027.
- Pergamon Museum Panorama Exhibition with Asisi panoramic painting and Greek statues.
- Photography — Helmut Newton collection and historic photos.
Previous Temporary Exhibitions:
- Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2022 — overview, in the Kulturforum (David Hockney), in the Neue Nationalgalerie, on Museumsinsel, Hamburger Bahnhof contemporary art, and the Museum of Photography.
- Top Special Temporary Exhibitions in 2021 — including the reopening of the Neue Nationalgalerie, as well as the Ethnological and Asian Art Museums in the Humboldt Forum.
- Top Special Exhibitions in 2020: Highlights, in Kulturforum, on Museum Island, in the Hamburger Bahnhof, smaller museums, and the opening of the Humboldt Forum in December.