2016 - News - Detail Page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Salutation,

The Neues Museum has been restored, that is a reason for great joy and it is like a miracle! Severely damaged by bombing during the Second World War, completely destroyed in parts and left as a ruin, exposed to wind and weather for many decades - and now it shines again.

One might be tempted to compare its destruction with the fall of Pompeii, as depicted in Schievelbein's frieze here in the Greek Court. But just as even there not only destruction prevails, but also people fleeing to save their treasures, the Neues Museum stands not only for destruction, but also for a new beginning, not only for war, but also for the happy reunification of Germany, which made today's celebration possible in the first place. At the end of the frieze, the fleeing inhabitants of Pompeii are greeted by Stüler, the architect of this building, and Olfers, then General Director of the museums. Today, David Chipperfield should probably be added to the list, as he saved the building for us and treated it like an archaeological treasure that bears witness to a bygone era.

But not only this frieze, but also other historical decorations have fortunately been preserved in parts, marvellous floor mosaics, wall and ceiling paintings. They were not purely decorative, but were intended to embed the exhibits in their historical context. Viewers could literally immerse themselves in an ancient, foreign culture that was waiting to be discovered. These displays were part of an educational programme to which the museums were committed, and education is still one of the museum's core tasks today. In the mid-19th century, the building was ultra-modern in terms of technology and museum history. It broke with the classicist rigour still embodied by the Altes Museum. It broke new ground in the communication of art and culture. The exhibits were objects of cultural-historical research by the museums, research that was world-leading. We are reminded of Richard Lepsius, one of the founders of Egyptology, from whose research expeditions many of the treasures in the Berlin collection originate.

Without science, there would be no museums - that has always been a hallmark of Berlin. Ladies and gentlemen, this is also a decisive guiding principle for us today. And we are not only rebuilding, we are also building on this important tradition of large-scale research into antiquity and cultural studies across institutions. We are doing this today in clusters of excellence, such as TOPOI, and other alliances, and the National Museums in Berlin and the entire Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation are an integral part of these alliances.

When the Neues Museum finally reopens its doors to the public in October as the third renovated building on the Museum Island - after the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Bode Museum - it will be a very special opening, because we will experience a true rebirth of the Museum Island. After seventy years, all five buildings on the island will be open to the public as museums. In the history of the island, this was only ever the case for just under ten years, from 1930 to 1939. 1930 saw the opening of the Pergamon Museum, and in 1939, due to the outbreak of the Second World War instigated by Hitler's Germany, the Neues Museum was the first building to be closed again, followed by the others. Even if the Museum Island Masterplan will take many years to complete with the refurbishment of the other buildings, a happier time is now beginning for the island.

But I don't want to anticipate the opening of the museum in October this year. Today, the building takes centre stage! David Chipperfield and his team have not only restored the building to working order and equipped it with contemporary technology - which is barely noticeable from the outside. They have resurrected it as a jewel. Together with restoration architect Julian Harrap, they have gone about their work with the utmost care. The conservation authorities were always on hand to advise them. The high level of expertise and critical open-mindedness of Jörg Haspel and Michael Petzet was always a great help to us, and we would like to thank them both for this!

Together with the museums as the future users, a restoration concept was developed that was based on a room-by-room approach, while always keeping the big picture in mind. Some rooms were completely destroyed, while others were surprisingly well preserved. All the different degrees of destruction were taken into account and an appropriate solution was found for each case. And that was often more difficult than expected! Familiar and proven restoration techniques were often not enough. Stüler was extremely innovative: a wide variety of new building materials were used, he combined the latest iron technology with antique lightweight construction, and he even had a hot water heating system installed, which was hardly widespread at the time. Many historical techniques first had to be "re-researched" from a restoration and scientific perspective for the renovation. Around 300 specialised companies and restorers were ultimately involved - I can't list them all, but they all deserve my thanks. They really did a marvellous job, made the house whole again and made it shine.

To be able to take over this house today - exactly one year into the presidency - is a very special pleasure and an outstanding event for me. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation and its National Museums will always remember with gratitude the contribution that Klaus-Dieter Lehmann and Peter-Klaus Schuster made to the success of the project.

Handing over a building normally also means saying goodbye to those involved. I am pleased that in this case it is not the same for everyone: the Chipperfield office is also responsible for the planning of the James Simon Gallery, the new entrance building, the foundation stone of which - right next door - is not far off.

The Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning will also continue to accompany us. I would like to thank you, President Mausbach, on behalf of all your employees, for your excellent professional support. The fact that the total construction costs are now 200 million euros and that the original budget was undercut by more than 30 million euros is not least thanks to your team.

We would like to thank you, Federal Minister Tiefensee, for your continued support of the project, which you have once again made clearly visible through your involvement today.

You, Minister of State Neumann, have been actively and successfully ensuring for years that the government and parliament provide the necessary funds for the Museum Island Masterplan. After the federal government assumed full financial responsibility in 2003, construction work could begin here at the Neues Museum. You once said that you saw your most important task as improving the framework conditions for culture. The Museum Island demonstrates this brilliantly! We owe you and the German Bundestag a great debt of gratitude for this.

And yet it is good to have other strong partners at our side. The Museum Island Board of Trustees, to which the leading commercial enterprises in Germany belong, enables us to do a great deal to make this unique UNESCO World Heritage Site better known and even more visible to the public. Many thanks to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Mr Schulte-Noelle, and all its members!

Education, culture and science are what the National Museums in Berlin and the entire Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation stand for. And education, culture and science are Berlin's great potential! We are therefore delighted that you, Mr Governing Mayor, are expressing your solidarity with the Foundation and its museums with your active participation in this ceremony, because we also need the support of our home state to ensure a prosperous future for our institution.

Thank you very much!