Bode-Museum

With 500,000 objects, the Coin Cabinet in the Bode Museum is one of the largest numismatic collections in the world, and the Sculpture Collection is one of the largest collections of older sculpture ever. As early as 1904, painting and sculpture were presented here side by side as equals for the first time, at the instigation of Wilhelm von Bode.

A Baroque Building at the Northern Tip of Museum Island

The Bode Museum stands on Kupfergraben at the northern tip of Museum Island, where the island is narrowest. The three-winged building with its dome encloses several courtyards and reaches so close to the Spree riverbank that it seems to rise out of the water. Construction began in 1897 based on designs by Ernst von Ihne, a leading representative of Wilhelminian Baroque, and it opened in October 1904 as the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum. The idea behind it originated from a memorandum by Crown Princess Victoria in 1883, and it was implemented by Wilhelm von Bode, the first Director-General of the Berlin Museums, after whom the building has been named since 1956. During World War II, the building was severely damaged, especially the dome; restoration proceeded in stages from 1948 to 1986, followed by a major refurbishment after reunification, and the house reopened in 2006. Since 1999, it has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Museum Island; the island was already on the Central Monument List of the GDR in 1977.

500,000 Coins, Donatello, and a Spectacular Robbery

Under one roof, the Bode Museum houses three collections plus a fourth as a guest. The Coin Cabinet holds 500,000 objects, making it one of the largest numismatic collections worldwide. The Sculpture Collection is one of the largest collections of older sculpture ever, featuring Donatello’s Pazzi Madonna, Giovanni Pisano’s Man of Sorrows, and German Late Gothic works by Tilman Riemenschneider, among others. Additionally, there is the Museum of Byzantine Art, a collection unparalleled in Germany, showcasing Late Antique and Byzantine pieces. And on the walls hang around 150 paintings from the Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery) collection, which has been located at the Kulturforum since 1998 – this exact mixture dates back to 1904, when painting and sculpture were first displayed side by side as equals here. However, the most famous story of the house is a crime: On March 27, 2017, the 100-kilogram gold coin Big Maple Leaf was stolen from the Coin Cabinet. Around 1,400 objects from the Sculpture Collection and Byzantine Art are also considered lost since the war, and the stolen coin remained missing.