The new Prussian Cultural Heritage Yearbook has been published
Press release from 12/21/2007
The 43rd volume of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Yearbook looks back on the significant events and developments of 2006. The reopening of the Bode Museum, formerly the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, was a glittering highlight of the year and at the same time a decisive step on the way to the restoration and completion of the Museum Island. The Neues Museum will be the third building to open its doors in 2009 (after the Old National Gallery in 2001 and the Bode Museum in 2006). The restoration concept for this unique architectural monument is explained by State Conservator Jörg Haspel in a richly illustrated article. Another major construction site of the foundation is presented by the building commissioner of the State Library: In Friedrichshagen, the first construction phase of the foundation's new warehouse district will be completed by 2009.
This yearbook focuses on Wilhelm von Bode as one of the most important personalities for the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and the namesake of the reopened museum: one text discusses his influence on American art collectors and museum presentations, while another article by Bode's daughter describes the opening of the Pergamonmuseum in 1930. The centenary of the Museum für Ostasiatische Kunst, also founded and shaped by Bode, is also documented. The patrons of the museums are also commemorated, in particular Heinz Berggruen, who donated an important work by Alberto Giacometti to the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin shortly before his death in early 2007. Patronage, especially Jewish patronage, was the subject of a symposium organised by the Foundation in 2006 together with the Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Coordination Office for the Loss of Cultural Property in Magdeburg - two of the lectures were included in the yearbook. The Riemenschneider group of St Anne and the long-lost cycle of the seasons by C. D. Friedrich, which were acquired in 2006 with the help of civic engagement, are also presented.
The Foundation's losses in connection with the Second World War are an ongoing theme. While much has been irretrievably lost, significant treasures from the Berlin museums are now known to be in Russian depots. With the exhibition "Merovingian Period - Europe without Borders", Germany and Russia have opened a new chapter of cultural co-operation in this field. The Berlin participants describe the genesis of the exhibition and take stock. Other topics in the yearbook: The director of the collection Eugen Blume reflects on ten years of Hamburger Bahnhof. The Museum of European Cultures presents itself as a lively place of intercultural encounters. The State Institute for Music Research and the Collection of Classical Antiquities present digitisation and edition projects. The Ibero-American Institute uses the example of regional research to shed light on its role as a knowledge archive. The East Asia Department of the State Library also offers researchers an outstanding infrastructure for the supply of literature, and the yearbook gives us an insight into this.
In addition to the individual contributions mentioned above, the President's Report, the Annual Chronicle and the exhibition overview provide a comprehensive overview of the Foundation's year 2006.
Jahrbuch Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Vol. XLIII / 2006. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin 2007, 460 pages, 91 illustrations, 53 of which are in colour. ISBN 978-3-7861-2564-8, ISSN 0342-0124, price: 25 €.