Gemaldegalerie
Gemäldegalerie is the leading art museum in Berlin, featuring the world’s best collection of European art from the 13th-18th centuries. Well known artists include Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, and Caravaggio. Seventy-two rooms designed by German architects Heinz Hilmer and Christoph Sattler are filled with some 1,600 works of art. The German collection is known as the best in the world.
The collection has survived much relocation throughout the years. Many of the pieces in the gallery were actually acquired by theft during wartimes, particularly from Poland. The works at the Gemäldegalerie were first opened in 1830 in the Royal Museum. In 1904 the collection moved to the Kaiser Friedrich Museum, which is now known as the Bode Museum. It was at this time that the gallery began to gain international recognition.
During World War II, many pieces were too large to hide and thus around 400 were destroyed. Several other paintings, which are currently part of the collection, survived the destruction and were divided at the end of the war between East and West Berlin.
Gemäldegalerie is arranged in chronological order starting from the entrance. The rooms are organized in a horseshoe around a clean central space that contains just a few sculptures. One of the more popular rooms is the Rembrandt room, which displays five different Madonnas by Raphael.
Gemäldegalerie is on Kulturforum, west of Potsdamer Platz. Operating hours for Gemäldegalerie are each day from 10:00am to 6:00pm except for Mondays and Thursdays. On Mondays the gallery is closed and on Thursdays it has extended hours from 10:00am to 10:00pm. General admission is €8, which includes an audio guide.
Gemäldegalerie is a great stop for guests staying in Berlin apartments. The collection is sure to impress any art lover.
