FAQ Pergamonmuseum: All you need to know about the refurbishment of the iconic Museum

Why does the Pergamonmuseum have to be renovated now, how much will it all cost and what will actually happen to the museum objects during the renovation? Our FAQs on the renovation of the museum building provide answers to these and other questions.

(zur deutschen Fassung)

Why is the Pergamonmuseum closed „again“?

The Pergamonmuseum has never been completely renovated since its opening in 1930 – so far, only individual parts of the building have been renovated separately. This is why the building has been partly closed since 2013 and is now being completely renovated and extended by the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR). Since October 23, 2023, the building has now been completely closed for the first time in order to carry out the majority of the refurbishment throughout the entire building. The overall project is divided into two construction phases. The central section with the Pergamon Hall and the Hellenistic Hall and the north wing with the Museum of Islamic Art are due to reopen in 2027. The southern section and the newly constructed fourth wing will welcome visitors again from 2037

Why does the Pergamonmuseum need to be renovated now?

The Pergamonmuseum was opened more than 90 years ago. Since then, it has only been renovated in a makeshift and inconsistent manner. The Second World War has left its mark on the building, there is a lot of structural damage and the technical facilities have not been up to today’s standards for a long time. There is an acute need for refurbishment due to, among other things, heavy moisture penetration of the façades and roofs, which also limits the safety of the exhibits. The refurbishment will also remove barriers: The building will have new elevators and more easily accessible rooms so that visitors will be able to move around without barriers in the future. Unfortunately, due to the architectural features of the old building, some rooms will not be accessible to wheelchair users even after the renovation.

Why is the renovation taking so long?

Due to the distinct nature of the building, very strict monument protection requirements must be met during the refurbishment; the listed ensemble of the architectural halls of the Antikensammlung will remain intact. The renovation will give the Museum of Islamic Art a new permanent exhibition across an entire wing for the first time. In addition, a new, fourth wing will be built and the Archaeological Promenade and the Pergamon Bridge will be completed. In addition to these factors, the building also stands on a very difficult building site, as large parts of the Museum Island were built on artificially stabilized, muddy ground. Overall, the renovation is an extremely complex undertaking, which is why a long construction period was scheduled from the outset and delays still cannot be ruled out.

When will the museum reopen?

The north wing of the museum and the central wing with the Hall of the Pergamon Altar and the Hall of Hellenistic Architecture are due to reopen in 2027. The renovation of the north wing and further construction work, such as the construction of the fourth wing, is expected to take until 2037. The north wing will then be home to the Museum of Islamic Art, which will welcome visitors on two floors with an exhibition space that has been expanded by two thirds.

How will the collections be presented after the renovation?

The new presentation will have a much larger exhibition space. There will be a wide range of offers on topics such as diversity and family. There will be more guided tours for children and young people and the Pergamonmuseum will become more inclusive and accessible.

The Museum of Islamic Art will be reopened in an area that has been tripled in size. The number of objects on display will be correspondingly higher. Objects, themes and stories will be made accessible in new ways. There is a wide range of digital mediation offers that provide visitors with an interactive and personalized experience.

In the collection section of the Antikensammlung, with the Millet Market Gate and the famous Pergamon Altar, the objects will be carefully restored to the highest standards to preserve them for future generations.

Why is the museum called the „Pergamonmuseum“?

Today’s Pergamonmuseum is the second building to bear this name. A building previously stood on the same site, which mainly housed the friezes of the Pergamon Altar and other architecture from Greco-Roman antiquity. In the early 20th century, a large building was planned to house the famous altar as well as other monumental objects such as the Mshatta façade, the Market Gate of Miletus and, of course, the Babylonian Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate. In the Berlin vernacular, the museum was quickly given the name Pergamonmuseum, which it still bears today, because of the altar reconstruction.

Why is the museum completely closed?

The original plan was for the Pergamonmuseum to remain half open at all times. The delays in the first construction phase on the one hand and the extremely poor overall condition of the south wing on the other meant that the construction periods overlapped, thus necessitating the complete closure of the museum.

What will happen to the objects in the meantime, will they be on display in other museums or online?

Many of the objects will be moved to external storage facilities and be restored. Some larger objects, such as the Babylonian Processional Way and the Ishtar Gate, will remain on site and be installed in a climate-controlled protective casing. Removing the Market Gate of Miletus, for example, would be enormously complex and would therefore result in increased costs. In addition, dismantling the gate would have a detrimental effect on the substance of the ancient object as well as the building fabric of the Pergamonmuseum itself.

The Antikensammlung will continue to display special objects from Pergamon during the museum’s closure: In the immediate vicinity of the Museum Island, in the exhibition building „Pergamonmuseum. The Panorama“, larger sculptures and important objects from the Pergamon Museum, as well as a 360° panorama of the ancient city of Pergamon by Yadegar Asisi, will continue to be on display in the coming years.

However, individual, outstanding objects from the Pergamonmuseum collections will be sent as ambassadors to other museums in Berlin and around the world during the closure. For example, an intervention in the Hamburger Bahnhof and a thematic collaboration with the Kupferstichkabinett are planned, and a cooperation with the Louvre in Paris is in preparation. The current permanent exhibition of the Vorderasiatisches Museum is available online as a virtual tour. (See the list with all currently planned exhibitions in other museums at the end of article.)

During the closure period, the Museum of Islamic Art will move out of its current rooms on the upper floor of the south wing and set up its new, innovative permanent exhibition on both floors of the north wing. The exhibits, some of which are permanently installed, will not only be dismantled and reassembled in a new location during this time, but also restored, such as the Mshatta façade, the Aleppo Room and the Alhambra dome.

What are the museum staff working on in the meantime?

The museum staff will also have a lot to do during the closure period. On the one hand, the collections will gradually be digitalized and indexed. Hundreds of objects will also be cleaned and restored. Work is also underway to clarify and identify the provenance of numerous objects.

The Vorderasiatisches Museum will remain a research institute during the closure period and will therefore stay open to research inquiries. The entire collection will be accessible online during this time.

Another extensive task is the planning of the new permanent exhibitions in the Pergamonmuseum.

The staff of the Islamic Museum also have to plan and carry out the relocation of four depots with more than 100,000 objects – a mammoth task. All the objects have to be carefully packed so that they are not damaged. Every object must always be able to be found, which is only possible with the use of a complex database in which not only the exact object data but also its current location is recorded.

Is the entire Museum Island closed?

No, the other museums on Museum Island are open.

What else is there to see on Museum Island?

The Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum and the James-Simon-Galerie are still open. In addition, „Pergamonmuseum. The Panorama“ is open. It includes a 360-degree panorama of the ancient city of Pergamon as well as selected objects from the collection of antiquities.

What is the biggest challenge when closing and renovating such a large museum?

The closure involves many simultaneous challenges. From the loss of revenue, which means significant losses in the overall budget of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, to the continuous and reliable protection of the building and the construction site by security services, to troubleshooting on the actual construction site, it is a huge coordination effort. In addition, there will always be unforeseeable problems with such a large project, which mean spontaneous adjustments and re-planning – so it remains a mammoth task from start to finish.

AUSSTELLUNGEN MIT OBJEKTEN AUS DEM PERGAMONMUSEUM:
01.03‒13.10.2024 Landesmuseum Halle: Magie 
17.05. ‒6.10.2024 Jüdisches Museum Berlin: Judentum und Sexualität
03.10.2024‒02.02.2025 Museum of Fine Art Budapest: Mesopotamian deities and demons 
18.10.2024‒09.05/2025 Leiden, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, Bronze Age exhibition  
25.10.2024-26.02.2025 Münster, WWU, „Körper. Kult. Religion. Perspektiven von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart“
06.11.2024‒03.03.2025 Getty Museum, Los Angeles: „Ancient Thrace and the Classical World“
25.11.2024‒22.05.2025 Paris, Byblos
06.12.2024− 13.2.2025 Catania, FROM BABYLON TO BAGHDAD