2016 - News - Detail Page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

The UNESCO World Heritage Day will take place this Sunday, 5 June 2016, from 10 am to 6 pm on Museum Island Berlin. With a day ticket of ten euros (concessions: five euros), visitors can visit the Bode Museum, the Pergamon Museum, the Neues Museum, the Altes Museum and the Alte Nationalgalerie. The National Museums in Berlin have also prepared an extraordinary guided tour programme through the various collections.

The President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Hermann Parzinger, said: "On this day, we want to convey to as large an audience as possible how important the World Heritage Site Museum Island is for the memory and self-image of this city, why this place is not only a tourist attraction, but also a place of self-assurance about the problems of our time. Of course we are delighted to welcome visitors from near and far, but above all we want to attract Berliners to their 'island' this Sunday."

For the Director General of the National Museums in Berlin, Michael Eissenhauer, this Sunday is all about exciting encounters with the testimonies of world culture: "We not only want to present our outstanding collections on the millennia-old history of art and culture in Europe and the Mediterranean region, we also want to inspire reflection on how we deal with cultural heritage sites worldwide. All I can say is: come and see!"

The day ticket to visit the Museum Island Berlin for €10, concessions €5, is available on 5 June 2016 at all ticket offices of the participating museums. Participation in the events is free with a day ticket. Due to the limited number of participants, registration is recommended by 1 June 2016 by calling 030 266 42 42 42 (Mon-Fri 9am-4pm) or sending an email to serivce@smb.museum. Meeting points are the ticket offices and information areas of the museums. Programme at: www.smb.museum/
nachrichten/detail/unseco-welterbetag-auf-der-museumsinsel.html.

Highlights from the programme:

10.30 am, Griechischer Hof, Neues Museum
World Heritage - preserved and threatened?
Panel discussion with Hermann Parzinger, President of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, Markus Hilgert, Director of the Museum of the Ancient Near East, Stefan Weber, Director of the Museum of Islamic Art, Matthias Wemhoff, Director of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, and Jörg Haspel, Berlin State Conservator; moderated by Maria Ossowski, ARD cultural correspondent.

11 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, Bode Museum
World Heritage Day at the Coin Cabinet: World Heritage at your fingertips
Ancient coins can be grasped with all five senses in 45-minute hand exercises. Focus: Greek coins (11 a.m.), Roman coins (1 p.m.), forgeries (4 p.m.) (duration 45 minutes each)

12 noon, Altes Museum
Olympia and Samos in Berlin
Ancient Olympia with the sanctuary of Zeus and the sanctuary of Hera on Samos have been uncovered and researched by German excavations in cooperation with the Greek Antiquities Service since 1875 and 1910 respectively. Votive offerings from both cult sites can be found in the Berlin museums.
Guided tour with Dipl. phil. Ursula Kästner, Curator of the Collection of Classical Antiquities (duration: 60 minutes)

12.30 pm, Pergamonmuseum
Of caliphs and sultans: cultural heritage sites in the Arab world
The tour focuses on early Islamic palace complexes in Jordan, caliph residences in Iraq and Syria and the Syrian metropolises of Aleppo and Damascus.
Guided tour with Dr Julia Gonnella, curator, and Prof. Dr Stefan Weber, Director of the Museum of Islamic Art (duration: 60 minutes)

2 p.m., Pergamon Museum
Baalbek and Pergamon. Ancient ruins in Lebanon and Turkey
Baalbek and Pergamon, systematically excavated and researched by the Berlin museums in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, are UNESCO World Heritage Sites of superlatives. Roman architecture from both ancient cities can be admired on a 1:1 scale in the Miletus Hall of the Pergamon Museum.
Guided tour with Dr Martin Maischberger, Deputy Director of the Collection of Classical Antiquities (duration: 60 minutes)

3 pm, Bode-Museum
Arnolfo di Cambio's "The Death of Mary": the history of a masterpiece
"The Death of Mary" is one of the most important works in the sculpture collection. From its execution for the façade of Florence Cathedral to its damage in 1945, this guided tour follows the exciting history of this group of sculptures.
Guided tour with Dr Neville Rowley, Curator of Italian Art before 1500, Picture Gallery and Sculpture Collection (duration: 60 minutes)

3 pm, Pergamonmuseum
Like a phoenix from the ashes: the fate of the Berlin Tell Halaf finds
The story of the ruined mound and the restoration of the objects, which were fragmented into thousands of individual pieces, is told in front of 3000-year-old stone images from Tell Halaf, which were discovered in north-east Syria in 1899.
Guided tour with Dr Lutz Martin, curator, and Dr Nadja Cholidis, curator of the Museum of the Ancient Near East (duration: 60 minutes)

4 pm, Neues Museum
Troy and the Trojan War
Everyone knows the story of the Trojan War. But did it really take place? In the Troy Hall of the Neues Museum, we get to the bottom of this question and try to put the Iliad into context with the archaeological finds.
Guided tour with Dr Benjamin Wehry, research associate at the Museum of Prehistory and Early History (duration: 60 minutes)

4 pm, Neues Museum
Archaeological sites from the kingdom of Meroe
Together with the sites of Meroe and Musawwarat es-Sufra, Naqa was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2011. Reliefs from temples and pyramid tombs from these sites are on display, as well as the unique treasure trove of a queen.
Guided tour with Dr Jana Helmbold-Doyé, Curator Egyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection (duration: 60 minutes)