Neues Museum

The Neues Museum was built on Museum Island between 1843 and 1855 to plans by Friedrich August Schinkel and is considered his masterpiece.

As the state’s collections continued to grow, a new museum was commissioned. This Neues Museum was built in the Neo-Classical style and is considered one of the most important museum buildings of the 19th century. It also represented a breakthrough in the history of building construction and design, using industrial techniques that were just being developed at the time.

After lying in ruins for decades after World War II, the Museum reopened in 2009 and houses three complementary collections: the Egyptian Museum and papyrus collection, the Museum for Pre- and Early History, and the collection of Antiquities. It is also home to the famous bust of Nefertiti made around 1340 BCE. A year after its reopening, the Neues Museum had already become the city’s most visited museum welcoming some 1.1 million visitors.