Buildings
The individual buildings of the Museumsinsel complex are oriented in different directions and toward different parts of the city. The Altes Museum (Old Museum), which was planned as a counterpart to the former Stadtschloss (City Palace), and the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) and Neues Museum (New Museum) form an ensemble directed toward the south. The Neues Museum and Alte Nationalgalerie embody part of the overall development plan of 1841 by Friedrich August Stüler for a forum of the arts and sciences on the island in the Spree.
The railway route of 1882 crossed the island behind these buildings, thus changing the situation for the northern tip: the Bode-Museum and Pergamon Museum are directed to the north and west of the Kupfergraben (western arm of the Spree). The unoccupied place which arose to the west of the Neues Museum when the Packhofgebäude was demolished does not stand in any clear urban development relationship to the existent buildings. However, its orientation to access from the south and west has made it a fulcrum of the island which is suitable for the new reception building, the James Simon Galerie.
Each of these buildings on the Museumsinsel is a unique building in its own right and will retains its historic entrance. In addition, when the new master plan is implemented, they will also be experienced as a museum complex to a much greater extent than before, for then they will also be accessible through the new reception building and connected with one another by the Archaeological Promenade.
