Iron Age exhibition opens in St Petersburg with objects from Berlin

News from 11/10/2020

Some 1600 objects illustrate developments in the first millennium B.C. Almost half of them once belonged to the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte, but owing to the war are now in Russian museums.

A bronze belt plate with embossed, figural decoration from the Stična find complex (Slovenia
© SPK / photothek.net / Janine Schmitz

The exhibition "Iron Age – Europe Without Borders" can be seen from November 11, 2020 to February 28, 2021 at the Hermitage in St Petersburg, and from April 15 to July 15, 2021 at the State Historical Museum in Moscow. The fourth museum involved is the Pushkin Museum. This is the third in a series of exhibitions that offer a unique opportunity to see objects from the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Museum of Prehistory and Early History) of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (National Museums in Berlin) that were relocated to Russia during the war.

The exhibition's opening at the Hermitage in St Petersburg today will be broadcast via live stream. The welcoming speech by Mikhail B. Piotrovsky, Director of the Hermitage, will be followed by video messages from Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK, Olga B. Lyubimova, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Michelle Müntefering, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Sergey Y. Nechayev, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Federal Republic of Germany, Géza Andreas von Geyr, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Russian Federation, and Mikhail Y. Shvydkoy, the Russian President's Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation. After the cutting of the ribbon, Andrey Yu. Alexeyev, Head of the Department of Archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia, and Yuri Yu. Piotrovsky, Deputy Head of Archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia, will give a tour of the exhibition. They developed the exhibition concept jointly with Manfred Nawroth, Head Curator at the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.

Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK: “Europe without borders – the subtitle of the exhibition – applies equally well to our collaboration. Our joint work on the exhibition was planned and undertaken in close mutual consultation.”

Monika Grütters, Minister of State for Culture and Media Affairs, and patron of the exhibition: “The exhibition is a further encouraging step and an important stimulus in the dialogue on the issue of the war-related relocation of cultural assets, which is difficult and painful for both parties. I am grateful that objects brought from Germany as a consequence of the war are being shown publicly in the context of their collection after many decades and are re-entering the international academic discourse by means of the exhibition catalogue. I am very pleased by the constructive collaboration between the German and Russian museums involved and I hope that this will mark the beginning of many follow-on projects.”

Michelle Müntefering, Minister of State for International Cultural Policy at the Federal Foreign Office: “The Germany Year in Russia is enabling people in our two countries to get to know each other better. Regardless of political differences, it is especially important at this time to promote the exchange of thoughts and information between civil societies.”

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