Pergamon Museum

Welcome to the Pergamon Museum, the crown jewel of Berlin's Museum Island. This institution is unique in the world of museology; it was not built to house small artifacts in glass cases, but rather to serve as a colossal envelope…

As you stand before the Ishtar Gate, you are looking at the eighth gate to the inner city of Babylon, constructed around 575 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II. The brilliance of the blue-glazed bricks is breathtaking, achieved through…

Leading up to the Ishtar Gate is the Processional Way, a grand corridor that once stretched much further into the heart of Babylon. This path was used for the New Year's festival, during which statues of the gods were paraded…

Though currently inaccessible due to the long-term renovation of the North Wing, the Pergamon Altar remains the museum’s namesake and most famous exhibit. Dating to the second century BC, this massive structure was built on the…

Moving into the Roman era, we encounter the Market Gate of Miletus. This monumental marble gateway was built in the second century AD in the city of Miletus, in what is now Turkey. …

In the lower levels of the Near Eastern collection, you will find artifacts from Uruk, arguably the world’s first true city. Toward the end of the fifth millennium BC, small settlements merged here, giving birth to urban life. …

On the upper floor, the Museum of Islamic Art offers a sensory departure from the stone and brick of the lower levels. One of its most exquisite highlights is the Aleppo Room, a seventeenth-century reception room from a…

As you conclude your journey through the Pergamon Museum, you may notice a ceremony or a plaque dedicated to a time capsule. In 2024, as the museum prepared for its deep slumber during the most intense phase of renovation, a time…