New Yearbook of Prussian Cultural Heritage published
Press release from 12/22/2006
The 42nd volume of the yearbook presents the Foundation's activities in 2005, but also deals with topics that will remain relevant over a longer period of time: for example, it is dedicated to the Foundation's losses during and after the Second World War. Many of the Berlin museums' treasures looted by Soviet trophy commissions at the end of the Second World War are still in Russia. The interesting recent developments in relations at specialist level and the preparation of joint German-Russian projects are recorded here, as is the speech given at a ceremony in St. Petersburg in which the then Minister of State for Culture, Mrs Weiss, presents the Federal Government's view on the subject. Individual works that were thought to have been lost continue to reappear on the market. The Foundation's legal advisor describes the experiences and difficulties involved in recovering these works from private hands. The texts make it clear why coming to terms with history continues to be so important for the Foundation and its institutions.
The President of the Foundation devotes himself to the central future project, the Humboldt Forum with the non-European collections on Schlossplatz. The yearbook also focuses on the progress of construction work on Museum Island: while the keys to the Bode Museum, which has since been reopened, were handed over in 2005, a decision has now been made on the redesign of the Pergamon Museum. This article by the architectural firm Ungers presents the key elements of the concept, which includes a fourth wing and the creation of a main tour with the ancient architectural exhibits. However, the overriding event on Museum Island in 2005 was the relocation of the Egyptian Museum from Charlottenburg to the Altes Museum. In the yearbook, its director presents the changed exhibition design, which he uses as a "test arrangement" for the final presentation of the artefacts in the Neues Museum from 2009. The changes were extremely well received by the public, as the visitor numbers show.
The institutions at the Kulturforum also had reason to celebrate in 2005: in May, the Musical Instrument Museum celebrated the completion of its new entrance, which opens the building towards Potsdamer Platz. The Ibero-American Institute - a unique combination of library, science centre and event venue - celebrated its 75th anniversary, an occasion for which the Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa wrote a "song of praise to the temples of books", which can be read in the yearbook. The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, the largest universal library in the German-speaking world with more than 10 million volumes, is also a temple of books. It is both a modern service facility in a digital world and a first-class research library. The Director General presents her future utilisation concept.
A historical-critical contribution comes from the director of the Secret State Archives of Prussian Cultural Heritage: using the example of the 1934/35 film "The Old and the Young King" about the early years of Frederick the Great, he demonstrates the National Socialist appropriation of Prussianism and the distortion of history.
Important exhibitions that found their way into the yearbook: The Alte Nationalgalerie opened a branch in Dortmund, the "Kleine Nationalgalerie". The exhibitions "Deuses Gregos" with exhibits from the Collection of Classical Antiquities in Brazil and "Lepsius - the German Expedition to the Nile" in Cairo took place as part of the Metropolis Programme - both of which were very well received by visitors.
In addition to the individual contributions mentioned above, the President's Report, the annual chronicle and the exhibition overview provide an overview of the entire foundation year 2005.
Jahrbuch Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Vol. XLII / 2005. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 2006, 416 pages, 77 illustrations, 50 of which are in colour. ISBN 978-3-7861-2536-5, ISSN 0342-0124, price € 25.