Neue Nationalgalerie, Art museum in Kulturforum district, Berlin, Germany
Neue Nationalgalerie is a modern art museum in the Kulturforum district of Berlin-Mitte, distinguished by its glass pavilion design. Eight slender steel columns support a square roof above a glazed main hall, while additional exhibition rooms are located below ground level.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe designed the building in the 1960s as the final work of his career and died one year after its opening in 1968. British architect David Chipperfield led a renovation from 2015 to 2021 that largely restored its original condition.
The name refers to the national collection of modern art and distinguishes the institution from the original gallery building on Museum Island. Visitors see paintings and sculptures from the 20th century, mostly from Germany but also including international movements such as Surrealism or abstract painting.
The entrance hall on the ground floor hosts temporary exhibitions, while the permanent collection hangs in the lower rooms. Access is provided through wide staircases and an elevator connecting all levels.
During the renovation, Chipperfield even reproduced the old carpet pattern from the opening period to preserve the atmosphere of the original design. The steel beams were individually removed, cleaned, and reinstalled with only minimal interventions made.
Location: Bezirk Mitte von Berlin
Inception: 1968
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Part of: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Address: Potsdamer Straße 50, Berlin
Phone: +4930266424242
Website: https://smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/neue-nationalgalerie/home
GPS coordinates: 52.50694,13.36778
Latest update: December 5, 2025 22:22
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe shaped 20th-century architecture. His buildings stand in European and North American cities and show his approach: clear geometry, steel and glass combined with open floor plans. Each project follows the principle of reducing to the essential and defining space through structure. In the United States, he designed the Farnsworth House in Illinois, a residence with glass walls set in a wooded area. In Chicago, he created several buildings, including Crown Hall on the Illinois Institute of Technology campus and the residential high-rises on Lake Shore Drive. In New York, he developed the Seagram Building together with Philip Johnson, an office tower made of bronze and glass. Additional projects took him to Washington, Baltimore, Detroit, Montreal, and Toronto. In Europe, he built villas, museums, and exhibition structures. The Barcelona Pavilion was a temporary structure for the 1929 World's Fair, later reconstructed. Villa Tugendhat in Brno is now a World Heritage site. In Berlin, he built the New National Gallery, a museum with a large glass roof. In Krefeld, he designed Haus Lange and Haus Esters for private clients.
Kulturforum
151 m
Berlin modern
544 m
St. Matthäuskirche
100 m
Potsdamer Brücke
103 m
Sculpture garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie
53 m
Das Dritte Land
167 m
Berlin Block for Charlie Chaplin
57 m
Three Way Piece No. 2: The Archer
35 m
Simon Bolivar
97 m
Library of the Ibero-American Institute Berlin
131 m
Blue Granite from Vire
71 m
José de San Martin
102 m
Kulturforum
166 m
Imperial Love
43 m
Touching I
156 m
Tor auf dem Karlsbad
159 m
Horse head
98 m
Loeser & Wolff GmbH
167 m
Gustav Hartmann memorial
156 m
Stele for Mies
114 m
Four Squares in a Square
46 m
Commemorative plaque to Nikolaj I. Massalow
136 m
Großer Janus II
160 m
Altar
145 m
Der Ring
114 m
Stone
104 m
Heads and tail
66 m
Polis
56 mVisited this place? Tap the stars to rate it and share your experience / photos with the community! Try now! You can cancel it anytime.
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