Neues Museum

The Neues Museum is an important building located on Museum Island in Berlin. It was built between 1843 and 1855 under the orders of King Frederick William IV of Prussia. The design follows Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival styles, and it is considered the main work of the architect Friedrich August Stüler.

During World War II, the building was damaged, and later, it fell into decay in East Germany. From 1999 to 2009, it was carefully restored by the architect David Chipperfield.

Today, the Neues Museum holds important collections, including the Egyptian Museum, the Papyrus Museum (Berlin Papyrus Collection), the Museum for Pre- and Early History, and parts of the Antikensammlung. In 1999, because of its special architecture and history, the Neues Museum and the rest of Museum Island were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Overview

The Neues Museum was the second museum built on Museum Island. It was made to hold collections that could not fit in the Altes Museum. These included plaster casts, ancient Egyptian artifacts, prehistoric and early historic items, ethnographic objects, and prints and drawings. It is the source of the collections now in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin and the Ethnological Museum of Berlin.

The Neues Museum is also important for its construction and technology. It was the first big building in Prussia to use new industrial techniques, including iron. A steam engine was used for the first time in Berlin construction to help build the foundation, which was needed because of the soft soil around the River Spree.

It was built between 1843 and 1855 using designs by Friedrich August Stüler, who studied under Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The museum closed in 1939 at the start of World War II and was badly damaged during the bombing of Berlin. It was rebuilt by English architect David Chipperfield and reopened in October 2009. The museum won the 2010 RIBA European Award and the 2011 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.

Today, the museum shows Egyptian and Prehistory and Early History collections, including the famous bust of the Egyptian queen Nefertiti. As part of the Museum Island complex, the Neues Museum shows neoclassical museum design from the 1800s. With its use of iron and new building methods, it is also important in the history of technology. Its partly damaged interior is one of the last remaining examples of museum design from that time in Germany.

History

Construction of the Neues Museum began in 1841 under King Frederick William IV of Prussia. The building was designed by Friedrich August Stüler in a mix of Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival styles. The ground was tricky because it had soft dirt, so workers built many wooden supports under the whole structure.

When the museum first opened in 1855, it held many important collections, including items from ancient Egypt and Greece. Over time, some collections moved to other buildings. The museum closed when World War II started, and during the war, bombs damaged it badly.

After the war, the building sat broken for many years. In 1999, work began to fix it up again, and in 2009, the museum reopened. Today, it shows famous items like the bust of Queen Nefertiti and other treasures from ancient times. The building is now part of a special path under the Museum Island that connects all the museums there.

Building

The Neues Museum is a large, nearly rectangular building that is 105 meters long and 40 meters wide. It stands next to the Altes Museum, with a street called Bodestraße running between them. Inside, there are two special courtyards: one Greek and one Egyptian.

When the Neues Museum reopened in 2009, a new area called the James Simon Gallery was added. This gallery connects to the museum and shows how the two buildings work together. It was also designed by an architect named David Chipperfield.

Ground Floor (Erdgeschoss) 1) Greek Courtyard 2) Egyptian Courtyard 3) Main Vestibule 4) Patriotic Room 5) South Vestibule 6) Vaulted Room 7) Ethnographic Room 8) Room behind the stairs 9) Historical Room 10) Hypostyle 11) Egyptian Tombs Room 12) Mythological Room

Upper Floor (1. Stockwerk) 13) Main Stairs 14 ) Bacchus Room 15) Roman Room 16) South Cupola Room 17) Connection to Altes Museum 18) Room of the Middle Ages 19) Bernward Room 20) Modern Room 21) Greek Room 22) Cabinet of Laocoön 23) Apollo Room 24) North Cupola Room 25) Nubian Room