Kulturforum
Kulturforum – Center of the Fine Arts
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The Kulturforum is among the most important centers for the fine arts. Alongside the Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery), the Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Applied Arts) and further museums, the Philharmonie and the Staatsbibliothek (State Library) are also found here, in the very heart of Berlin. The Neue Nationalgalerie contains an exclusive collection of modern art: Edvard Munch and Oskar Kokoschka are exhibited beside Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Otto Dix and George Grosz. International artists including Picasso, Léger, De Chirico, Dalì, Magritte and Max Ernst also benefit from the admirable backdrop of the building constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The glazed, flat-roofed building, whose roof is held up by only eight supports, also hosts special exhibitions of international importance. During the temporary exhibitions the permanent exhibition is usually closed. The Gemäldegalerie exhibits many extraordinary examples of European painting, at which every art-lover will marvel. After reunification, exhibits from the collections of both parts of the city were reunited and put on display in the new building, which supplemented the museum buildings already present on the site and drew them into a coherent whole. The collection includes epoch-making German paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries by Dürer, Cranach, and Holbein. Dutch and Flemish painting is represented by its most important masters, including Brueghel, Vermeer and Rembrandt. There are also extraordinary works of French, English and Spanish art. Italian painting is a further focus of the Gemäldegalerie: the extensive collection contains works by major artists like Caravaggio, Botticelli, Tizian and Canaletto. In the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Applied Art), which connects directly with the Gemäldegalerie and which was built from 1978 to 1985, there are exhibits from the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Baroque up to the present, with a particular emphasis on Jugendstil. There are impressive exhibits of religious crafts, furniture, clothes, jewelry and furnishings, which together document the changing history of design. The Musikinstrumentenmuseum (Musical Instrument Museum), built to plans by Hans Scharoun, houses a collection of over 750 instruments from the 16th century to the present day. A special treat is a performance on the 1929 Wurlitzer organ, which can be enjoyed during guided tours, silent film screenings and at special concerts. The Philharmonie is one of the most famous concert halls in the world, and has been the stage for internationally renowned artists like Herbert von Karajan. The building, with its distinctive architecture, was designed by Hans Scharoun. The Großer Saal (Great Hall) and the Kammermusiksaal (Chamber Music Hall) are both known for their excellent acoustics. The orchestras play in the centre, with the audience rows rising in trapezoidal fashion therefrom. Guided tours are hold at 1pm daily. The public library Staatsbibliothek, which stands opposite, was built from 1967 to 1978 to designs by Scharoun as the easterly edge of the Kulturforum in Tiergarten. It forms a harmonic ensemble with the Philharmonie. Ít houses the library's collection from publication year 1956; further publications can be found in the Staatbibliothek's other building on Unter den Linden. |
| Kulturforum |
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Matthäikirchplatz 4-6 10785 Berlin-Tiergarten Tel.: 266 2951 www.kulturforum-berlin.com |
| Getting there |
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Potsdamer Platz: S1, S2 U2 123, 200
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| Explore Berlin-Tiergarten |
