"MUSEUM ISLAND : Pergamon Museum...1" Berlin Travelogue by coceng


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Pergamon & Miletus - Berlin
Pergamon & Miletus

Pergamon or Pergamum is an ancient city on the coast of Asia Minor that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty.

Pergamon had the second best library in the ancient world, after Alexandria. When the Ptolemies stopped exporting papyrus, partly because of competitors and partly because of shortages, they invented a new substance to use in codexes, called pergamum or parchment after the city. This was made of fine calf skin, a predecessor of vellum and paper.

The present-day, Turkish, name of the city is Bergama.

Miletus is a city in the Anatolia province of Turkey, near the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and at the mouth of the Meander river.

It was once one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor. Its gridlike layout, planned by Hippodamos, became the basic layout for Roman cities. The city also once possessed a harbor, before it was clogged by alluvium brought by the Meander.

The history of Miletus reaches back to the bronze age. In the 1500s BC, settlers from Crete moved there. In the 6th century BC, Miletus had become a maritime empire, having founded on several colonies. It was under Persian rule until 479 BC, when the Greek became victorious over the Persians. During this time several other cities were formed by settlers from Miletus, spanning across what is now Turkey and even as far as Crimea. In ancient Greece, Miletus became famous for its science and philosophers, with Thales being the most important one. In 334 BC, the city was conquered by Alexander the Great.

All the photos on this page are from Pergamon Museum.

Museum Island
Museum Island - Berlin

Museum Island (or, in German, Museumsinsel) in Berlin, Germany, is the name of the northern half of an island in the Spree river, in the center of the city.
The island received its name for several internationally renowned museums that are now occupying all of the island's northern half (originally a residential area dedicated to "art and science" by King Frederick William IV of Prussia in 1841). Constructed under several Prussian kings, their collections of art and archeology were turned into a public foundation after 1918, the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, which maintains the collections and museums today.

The Prussian collections became separated during the Cold War with the entire city, but were finally reunited after German reunification.

MUSEUM ISLAND : Pergamon Museum...1 - Berlin

Presently, the Museumsinsel and the collections are in the process of being reorganized. Since several buildings were destroyed in World War II and some of the exhibition space is in the process of being reconstructed, the information below is in a state of flux.

The Old Museum (Altes Museum) is the oldest of the museums, finished in 1830 according to the plans by Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. It was erected opposite of the (no longer existing) Berlin Castle. The oldest museum building in Berlin, it was here where Frederick William III first made the Antikensammlung, the Prussian collection of antiques, available to the public. This collection is now in part exhibited in the Old Museum again.

The New Museum (Neues Museum), located behind the Old Museum, was completed in 1859 according to plans by August Stüler, a student of Schinkel. It was nearly destroyed in World War II (only some of the outer walls remained) and is presently being reerected. According to plan, after the completion in 2009, it shall -- as before the war -- expose the collections of Egyptian and pre-history.

MUSEUM ISLAND : Pergamon Museum...1 - Berlin

The Old National Gallery (Alte Nationalgalerie) was completed in 1876, also according to designs by August Stüler, to host a collection of 19th century art donated by banker Joachim H. W. Wagener. The collection was greatly expanded and is today one of the largest collections 19th century sculptures and paintings in Germany. The building was badly damaged in World War II and only completely restored and reopened in 2001; today, it hosts the paintings of the collections (while the sculptures are located off the island in the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche, a former church).

In 1904 the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, today called Bode Museum, was opened. At the northern tip of the island, it too is presently closed for reconstruction. It is planned to be reopened in 2006 to host the collections of sculptures and late antique and Byzantine art.
The last of the museums is the Pergamon Museum, completed in 1930, which hosts original-size, reconstructed monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar and the market gate of Miletus, consisting of parts taken from the original excavation sites.

MUSEUM ISLAND : Pergamon Museum...1 - Berlin

The collections that were united on Museum Island for the first time allowed a unified look at European art from the Antiques up to the 19th century, presented in buildings that display the history of museums in themselves over a course of a hundred years, which is why the entire ensemble was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1999.


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  • Page Updated Aug 7, 2003
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  • coceng's Profile Photo
    coceng Jun 15, 2005 at 7:34 AM Report Abuse

    See, next time you don't have to create a bogus account just to leave a bad comment on this page ! Be Brave About It ! Huh !

  • grishaV1's Profile Photo
    grishaV1 Jun 10, 2005 at 11:25 PM Report Abuse

    glad there are update to pages on VT about berlin, so people can get a better view of how the city is and what it is about

  • BabciaMaine's Profile Photo
    BabciaMaine Oct 8, 2003 at 4:25 PM Report Abuse

    interesting commentaries

  • herzog63's Profile Photo
    herzog63 Oct 7, 2003 at 12:13 PM Report Abuse

    A very deep look into what Berlin has to offer!! An amazing insightful page!! Loved your commentary!

  • matcrazy1's Profile Photo
    matcrazy1 Oct 6, 2003 at 11:32 AM Report Abuse

    Wonderful page, pictures and info! Poor bears on a rain :-))) I must go there - thanks for sharing.

  • diamonddog Oct 1, 2003 at 5:22 AM Report Abuse

    After reading this wonderfull page and pics have to put it on my "to visit" list, hopefully without rain :-0).. The Pergamon travs. pics are awesome !! very nice report Arnaud!!

  • dragontml's Profile Photo
    dragontml Sep 30, 2003 at 9:50 PM Report Abuse

    it rained that much when u were there ?

  • vesna04's Profile Photo
    vesna04 Sep 30, 2003 at 10:14 AM Report Abuse

    Pink pipes, sex museum and lot of bears...interesting city !!! Great presentation :))

  • globetrott's Profile Photo
    globetrott Sep 29, 2003 at 3:27 PM Report Abuse

    great infos and wonderful pics ! Pergamon museum was my favorite - it even looks a bit unreal, as the Pergamon altar is made so perfectely !

  • HORSCHECK's Profile Photo
    HORSCHECK Sep 29, 2003 at 1:31 PM Report Abuse

    I was a few times in Berlin and i saw the city with and without the wall ... your brilliant page brings back many memories ... but next time be a bit more polite with the Asian girl who didn´t speak any English ... :o)

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