A Ruin from the War for More than Sixty Years
In 2009, the Neues Museum was the third museum on the Museum Island to be reopened. This means that all five exhibition locations are now open to the public again for the first time since 1939. David Chipperfield Architects restored the museum, which had been damaged and partly destroyed during World War II. Parts of the interior were exposed to the elements for more than 60 years. The architects’ office was guided by the concept of “complementary restoration” developed jointly with restoration architect Julian Harrap. Since its reopening, the Neues Museum has won numerous awards.
The original construction of the Neues Museum began in 1843 based on plans by the architect Friedrich August Stüler. It opened in 1859, being the first building of the “sanctuary for art and science” envisioned by Friedrich Wilhelm IV, and the second building on today’s Museum Island following the Altes Museum. Today, the Neues Museum houses the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, as well as selected objects from the Collection of Classical Antiquities.