HUMBOLDT FORUM
Building with baroque facades housing a museum of ethnology, Asian art and Berlin through collections of coins.
Next to the Berliner Dom stands a building with Baroque facades. It is a partial reconstruction of the former Stadtschloss, the Berlin Castle as redesigned by architect Andreas Schlüter for Elector Frederick III, which had been the residence of Brandenburg electors, Prussian kings and later German emperors. After the war, it was demolished and replaced by the Palace of the Republic, which was also demolished in 2008. Since its reopening in September 2021, the Humboldt Forum not only houses exhibitions from the Museum of Ethnology and the Museum of Asian Art (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), but also the Berlin exhibition of the Stadtmuseum Berlin and the Humboldt Laboratory of Berlin's Humboldt University. Covering an area of some 10,500 square meters, the Museum of Ethnology presents archaeological and cultural history objects, as well as a vast collection of photographs, films and sound recordings. Visitors can discover artifacts from Africa, America, Asia, Australia and the South Seas. It's worth mentioning, however, that in recent years the forum has come in for considerable criticism for exhibiting items from the colonial era without any real insight into German colonial history. For this reason, the forum now offers guided tours of the museums' ethnological collections, which address questions concerning the provenance and colonial continuity of the exhibits.
Book the Best Activities with Get Your Guide
Members' reviews on HUMBOLDT FORUM
