DESIGNPANOPTIKUM

The Designpanoptikum: Berlin’s Most Curious Industrial Museum

From the outside, the building at Poststraße 7 looks like any other gray panel building in the Nikolaiviertel. Yet, hidden behind it is one of Berlin’s most curious museums. The Designpanoptikum is a surreal museum for industrial objects, which founder and photographer Vlad Korneev has been filling for over a decade with finds from flea markets and Berlin cellars.

More than 3,000 Objects Without a Single Sign

What initially looks like a horror cabinet turns out to be a consistent concept upon closer inspection. Brutally effective metal constructions, prostheses, an iron lung, and a dissection table for small animals are actually quite normal everyday objects from past decades. The special thing: Korneev re-combines and re-assembles his exhibits, supplemented by mannequins, lights, and pinhole cameras, into veritable installations. You will search in vain for labels. If you want to understand something, you have to look and think for yourself.

This quirky museum in Berlin operates according to a clear philosophy. Korneev himself says his museum is half about the exhibition, half about the visitors. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a personal tour from the founder. Admission costs 14 Euros, and it’s open on Thursdays and Saturdays. If you’re looking for unusual museums in Berlin, this is the right place.