Behind-the-Scenes of Berlin’s Pergamon Museum Renovation: A Bold Leap Toward Reopening
The Pergamon Museum sits at the heart of Berlin’s UNESCO-listed Museum Island, renowned as a must-see landmark. Yet visiting in the near term isn’t simple: the building has been entirely closed for renovations since October 2023, with significant sections expected to stay shut for 14 to 20 years—potentially until 2037 to 2043.
Despite the long construction horizon, several principal attractions are set to greet visitors years earlier, offering a glimpse of what the full restoration will eventually reveal.
The north wing and the Pergamon Altar Hall—the spectacular chamber that houses the iconic Ancient Greek temple entrance—the plan to reopen in early 2027. This hall has been off-limits since 2014, and its comeback is a centerpiece of the project.
A press preview on December 4 offered a look at the scope of the monumental restoration.
“This is a treasure of humanity,” said Wolfram Weimer, the federal government’s culture and media commissioner, at the briefing. “This will be a sensation. We’re not expecting hundreds of thousands of visitors here in the coming years; we’re expecting millions, because it’s designed as a location of global significance.”
Preserving a historic structure while upgrading it
Commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II and built from 1910 to 1930, the Pergamon Museum was designed by Alfred Messel. The ongoing restoration respects many of Messel’s original plans, preserving the building’s essential architectural features and even the original techniques—down to the windows.
The museum sustained damage during World War II, a consequence of air raids and shelling. After the war, when East Germany administered the site, funding to fully refurbish the building was lacking. The current restoration aims to retain traces of that wartime damage as historical testimony, while repairing the areas that have declined with time.
Modern upgrades accompany the painstaking restoration: lighting, climate control, and security systems are being modernized to protect long-standing exhibits, and the entire museum is being made accessible to visitors with disabilities.
Unexpected challenges and a costly undertaking
Because the museum sits along the Spree River on unstable, sandy ground, the foundations required substantial reinforcement. Over 700 high-strength micropiles were installed to stabilize the structure.
During drilling at depths of 10 to 30 meters (30 to 100 feet), engineers discovered two groundwater pumping stations from the original construction—left in place to drain water and never fully removed. Their presence complicated the restoration and added unforeseen costs to the project.
The first phase’s budget has climbed to nearly €500 million ($580 million), roughly double the initial estimate. The entire renovation is projected to total about €1.5 billion.
What will reappear in 2027
So what treasures will be accessible when the doors reopen in 2027?
The Pergamon Altar itself, excavated by Carl Humann in Pergamon (modern-day Turkey) in the 1870s, remains the hall’s centerpiece. Built around an ancient temple dating back to the 2nd century BC, the altar’s high-relief frieze depicts the epic clash between the Giants and the Olympian gods and has long been celebrated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
During renovation, the altar’s space has been redesigned to maximize light. A new glass ceiling restoration and an accompanying protective roof structure now illuminate the hall more vividly than ever. Because it was impractical to remove the altar during renovations, its components stayed in place, safeguarded by specially crafted casings.
“We’re witnessing something exceptional,” Weimer commented, noting the feat of renovating a building while it houses its priceless collection.
Other major works were relocated to new spaces to facilitate the process. The Mshatta Facade, a celebrated early Islamic work from the Umayyad period (caliph Al-Walid II, 743–744 AD), originally part of a 33-meter-long palace facade unearthed near Amman, was moved to a temporary home during the works.
The Aleppo Room, a suite of intricately painted wooden panels with a blend of Christian and Islamic iconography, also awaited careful disassembly and transfer from the south wing to the north wing. These paintings have undergone meticulous restoration.
The Alhambra Cupola, a 14th-century carved wooden dome, was similarly relocated. Its new site will feature immersive elements—audio installations with poetry and fragrance stations evoking the cedar and poplar tree origins of the dome.
A fusion of Islamic Art and Antiquity under one roof
The Pergamon Museum’s collection is notable for blending Islamic Art with Ancient Greek masterpieces, offering a unique, globally rare combination. Marion Ackermann, director general of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, emphasized that “under one roof there are architectural styles from different ancient regions and eras.” This concept traces to the museum’s founding, which aimed to connect its Antiquities with the broader Mediterranean and Near Eastern contexts from which Islamic cultures emerged.
Ackermann adds that such a cross-cultural perspective remains remarkably relevant today, illustrating that civilizations develop through interaction and exchange.
As spring 2027 approaches, world heritage enthusiasts can anticipate a meticulously restored and brightly lit museum—ready to welcome visitors back to a rebuilt, reinterpreted space that honors its complex history while embracing modern accessibility and conservation standards.
Edited by: Cristina Burack
