The Pergamon Museum, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Museum Island, is one of Berlin’s must-see tourist attractions. However, it cannot be visited: it has been completely closed for restoration work and many of its parts will remain closed for between 14 and 20 years, until 2037 or 2043.
But some of the museum’s main attractions will continue to welcome visitors a decade before renovations of the rest of the building are completed. None other than the north wing of the museum and the impressive Pergamon Altar Room, which houses the famous entrance to the ancient Greek temple that gives this cultural institution its name, will reopen in early 2027. The entrance to the room has no longer been accessible since 2014.
A press preview on December 4 provided information about the museum’s monumental restoration project. “This is a treasure of humanity,” said Wolfram Weimer, Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, at the handover. “It will be a sensation. We expect not hundreds of thousands of visitors but millions in the coming years as it is a place of global importance,” he added.
Repair of outdated structures
The Pergamon Museum was built on behalf of the German Emperor Wilhelm II between 1910 and 1930 according to plans by Alfred Messel. The restoration and expansions follow many of the architect’s original designs.
The museum is a listed building and the renovation preserves key architectural features and original construction techniques, as well as various elements such as stained glass.
A few years after its inauguration in 1930, the Pergamon Museum suffered severe damage from air raids and artillery fire during the Second World War.
After the war, the museum remained in the GDR, which did not have the necessary funds to properly renovate the building.
The current restoration process will preserve some remnants of the damage caused during World War II as evidence of the city’s history. Parts that have been naturally damaged over time will be repaired.
Unstable foundations, unexpected costs
Due to its location on the Spree on sandy and unstable terrain, the museum required significant reinforcement. The foundation was anchored with more than 700 high-strength steel rods, so-called micropiles.
This presented an unexpected technical challenge: drilling 10 to 30 meters into the ground to install the micropiles revealed two pumping stations from the initial work. They were built to drain groundwater, but were never fully dismantled and the remains were covered without documentation, representing an unforeseen step (and expense) in the restoration process.
The budget for this first phase of renovation is almost 500 million euros, twice as much as originally estimated. The entire restoration project is expected to cost around 1.5 billion euros.
Which treasures will be open to the public again in 2027?
The monumental Pergamon Altar, excavated by Carl Humann in the ancient city of Pergamon (in modern-day Türkiye) in the 1870s, retains its own space.
The original museum was specifically built around this temple structure, which dates back to the 2nd century BC. BC. C. The altar is decorated with a high relief frieze depicting the battle between the giants and the gods of Olympus. In classical lists it is described as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The room is more impressive than ever and is now flooded with light thanks to the complete renovation of the glass elements in the ceiling. A new protective structure, also made of glass, was installed above the room.
Since it would have been too complicated to remove the altar from the building during the renovation, its elements were kept in the room and protected by frames specially made for the restoration phase.
(ct/ms)
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