Altes Museum

In the location's words:

Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s Altes Museum, built on Berlin’s Museum Island from 1823 to 1830, is one of the most significant examples of Neoclassical architecture.

The monumental arrangement of the 18 fluted Ionic columns, the wide portico, the grand staircase that invites visitors to ascend, and the rotunda adorned with ancient sculptures —a space housing the inner collection and an explicit reference to the Roman Pantheon—are architectural symbols of dignity that had previously been reserved only for royal palaces.

The inscription above the colonnade reads: “Frederick William III founded the museum in 1828 for the study of antiquities of all kinds and the liberal arts.” Today, the building houses theCollection of Classical Antiquities, which presents its permanent exhibition on the art and culture of the Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans.