The James Simon Gallery is distinguished by a tall, modern colonnade of slender concrete columns that rise above a high stone plinth along the edge of the Kupfergraben canal. Designed by architect David Chipperfield and opened in twenty…
Museum Island and Nikolaiviertel
This walking tour connects the monumental grandeur of Museum Island's Prussian palaces with the intimate, rebuilt medieval streets where Berlin was born.
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1. James Simon Gallery
2. Alte Nationalgalerie
The Alte Nationalgalerie rises from the center of Museum Island as a raised-base temple, built to embody King Frederick William the Fourth’s vision of a sanctuary for art and science. Designed by architect Friedrich August Stüler and…
3. Altes Museum
The Altes Museum is identified by a grand row of eighteen fluted Ionic columns stretching across its facade, standing at the edge of the open lawn of the Lustgarten. Designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel and completed in…
4. Berlin Cathedral
The Berlin Cathedral is defined by a massive central dome that rises ninety-eight meters above the city. Completed in nineteen oh five under Emperor Wilhelm the Second, this monumental church was designed by Julius Raschdorff in a…
5. Humboldt Forum
The Humboldt Forum is recognizable by the striking contrast between its three reconstructed Baroque façades—which gleam in a pale quince-yellow hue—and its smooth, uncompromisingly modern eastern side that faces the Spree river. Designed…
6. St. Nicholas' Church Museum
The St. Nicholas’ Church Museum is recognizable by the twin spires that rise above the surrounding medieval-style streets of the Nikolai Quarter. As the oldest church building in Berlin, its foundations date back to approximately…
7. Knoblauchhaus
The Knoblauchhaus is a three-story corner building in Berlin’s historic Nikolaiviertel recognizable by its late Baroque facade. Built between seventeen fifty-nine and seventeen sixty-one, the house functioned for nearly one hundred and…
8. Museum Ephraim-Palais
The Ephraim-Palais is identifiable by its gently rounded corner façade, which features a gilded balcony railing, Tuscan columns, and a bright, multi-story Rococo design. Built between seventeen sixty-two and seventeen sixty-six by…