Detail page - Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Berlin. Under the direction of the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning (BBR), the listed colonnades on Berlin's Museum Island have been restored to their original state. The final construction phase, including the northern section of the colonnades on the banks of the Spree, has now been completed and handed over to the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) and the National Museums in Berlin.

The 19th-century colonnades are an integral part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Museum Island Berlin. As part of the Museum Island Masterplan, they, like the other open spaces, are being restored. The majority of the colonnades along the Spree, Bodestraße and the Neues Museum as well as the Colonnade Courtyard had already been restored by 2010. Work on the final construction phase began in 2020.

This last construction project, which has now been completed, involved the restoration and reconstruction of the original colonnades on the banks of the Spree to the north-east of the Alte Nationalgalerie. The costs totalled around 13.6 million euros.

Heavily damaged components were dismantled, restored and later reinstalled in close consultation with the State Monuments Office. The two-storey fixtures, which had been built into the colonnades as additional rooms in 1911, were removed. New, highly professional rooms in the Bode Museum were previously set up for the sculpture restoration workshop of the Alte Nationalgalerie, which was housed there. The head building at the northern end of the colonnades, built in 1957, was redesigned as an open pavilion using the historical columns: Here, too, the brickwork was removed and a ramp was installed to create inclusive access.

In a few years' time, the now restored northern colonnade will play a very special role in connection with the basic restoration and expansion of the Pergamon Museum: From the reopening of the first construction phase (with the Altar Hall and the north wing with the Museum of Islamic Art and the newly installed Mshatta façade there) in 2027, it will serve as an access route for visitors to the museum. The entrance via the Pergamonmuseum's cour d'honneur will only be possible again once construction phase B of the Pergamonmuseum has been completed.

Construction work on the northern colonnade walkway

As part of the construction work, the dismantling of the extensions and fixtures such as masonry walls, stairs, ceilings, fittings and technology from the last 110 years was carried out. Prior to this, a working platform projecting far out over the banks of the Spree had to be set up for space reasons. To ensure safety during the work, the platform was protected against ships with a so-called collision protection. A temporary jetty was also set up. So-called push barges, vessels with a shallow draught, were moored here, which were primarily used to transport materials and as floating storage areas for the construction site.

Following the dismantling, the foundations in the area of the head building were reinforced with a total of 21 micropiles up to 20 metres long and the foundations of the colonnade were secured. This was followed by the careful restoration of the historic capitals and columns, in part with the addition of new natural stone elements such as the architrave on the head building.

Final work on the outdoor facilities, technology and lighting has been completed in recent weeks. The colonnades will also be made accessible by an internal ramp.

The colonnades as a connecting element of the Museum Island Berlin

The first colonnades on Museum Island Berlin were built between 1853 and 1860 based on a design by Friedrich August Stüler. They stretched along the east and south sides of the Neues Museum and Bodestraße. For the colonnades on the banks of the Spree and north of the Alte Nationalgalerie, built between 1876 and 1878, the architects Heinrich Strack and Georg Erbkam adapted the original Stüler design. They added three square pavilions with domed roofs.

As part of the historical construction work for the Pergamonmuseum, the section of the colonnades to the north-west of the National Gallery was demolished. Around 1908, the colonnades at the Neues Museum were used to temporarily house the friezes of the Pergamon Altar, and from 1911, the colonnades on the Spree side were gradually replaced.

Today, the colonnades are once again an important connecting element of the architectural ensemble. The colonnade courtyard surrounded by them is the central public space on Museum Island. With his design for the James-Simon-Galerie, David Chipperfield continued the colonnade on Bodestraße in a contemporary form, creating a smaller courtyard on the west side of the Neues Museum.

The removal and restoration of the colonnade structure according to plans by Petersen Architects is part of the realisation of the Museum Island master plan, according to which the individual buildings are connected by courtyards and colonnades and joined together to form a unique ensemble. Even outside museum opening hours, the colonnades are a special place to spend time in the historic centre of Berlin.

Further information:

Information on the construction project:
https://www.bbr.bund.de/BBR/DE/Bauprojekte/Berlin/Kultur/Museumsinsel/Kolonnaden/

More about the Kolonnadenhof:
www.spkmagazin.de/2024/hoechste-kunst-im-schoensten-mondlicht.html
blog.smb.museum/gruenderzeitliche-kolonnaden-bar-die-historische-trinkhalle-auf-der-museumsinsel/
www.smb.museum/museen-einrichtungen/museumsinsel-berlin/museumsgebaeude/kolonnadenhof/

Press material for download:
https://www.bbr.bund.de/presse