Please note the changed opening hours from 16 April 2024. More

A Space for Applied Arts, Fashion and Design

Permanent exhibition
Kunstgewerbemuseum

The Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) houses world-renowned examples of European decorative and applied arts and design from the Middle Ages to the present. It collects, studies and communicates processes related to design, production and the use and/or appropriation of these artistic design objects. Moreover, it is dedicated to the relationship between people and the design of their environment, which it approaches from diverse perspectives.

Fashion Gallery

Several sections of the Kunstgewerbemuseum building, designed in 1966 by Rolf Gutbrod and opened in 1985, have been remodelled by the architectural firm Kuehn Malvezzi. The museum reopened in November 2014. The most extensive changes affected the Fashion Gallery. In large showcases installed in rooms lit dimly for conservation purposes, mannequins model some 130 costumes and accessories. Representing 150 years of fashion history, the installation conveys a sense of strolling through a shopping arcade, with the creations of famous couturiers such as Paul Poiret, Elsa Schiaparelli and Christian Dior in the windows. This is the first time Berlin has had a permanent exhibition covering every aspect of fashion. The core of the display is the international collection of Martin Kamer and Wolfgang Ruf, which was purchased in 2003.

Design Collection

The Design Collection shown on the lower level is a highlight. This top-quality selection presents Bauhaus classics alongside the designs of well-known contemporary designers such as Ettore Sottsass, Philippe Starck and Konstantin Grcic. A chair gallery rounds off the tour, featuring various innovative designs from the 19th century to the present. The chair illustrates the different possibilities of design better than almost any other object; here, the spectrum ranges from the simple and serviceable to the luxurious, culminating in designs where imagination completely overtakes functionality.

European Design and Object Art

On the ground and first floors, the museum systematically surveys European masterpieces of the minor arts from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. Due to extensive remodelling, the exhibition spaces on the ground floor that usually display Medieval treasuries, including the renowned Welfenschatz (Guelph Treasure), alongside splendid Renaissance objects, such as the Lüneburger Ratssilber (the silver collection from the city of Lüneberg), are not accessible until 1 June 2024.

Upstairs, the Baroque passion for collecting is exemplified in the phenomenon of the Kunstkammer – collections of exquisite curiosities and objets dart housed in elaborate collectors’ cabinets. Exquisitely designed porcelain and faience objects reflect the refined aristocratic Rococo culture. The large cabinet by David Roentgen, an iconic masterpiece of its kind, marks the transition from Baroque to Neoclassical taste. The important Jugendstil section shows artistic tendencies that began with the Paris Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in 1900 and led well into the late 1920s. It includes numerous pieces of furniture, René Lalique’s jewellery and ornamentation and stained glass by César Klein.


A permanent exhibition of the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

© Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Juliane Eirich
Dresscode – aneckend und ausschweifend


Ausstellungsgespräch | 60 Minuten | 30 €

Kleider der 1960er-Jahre von Jean Patou, Christóbal Balenciaga und Jean Dessès in der Modegalerie des Kunstgewerbemuseums.
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Achim Kleuker
Kunstgewerbemuseum | third party tour

Kunstgewerbemuseum
Guided tour by third parties

Blick ins Foyer mit den Superzeichen des Wegeleitsystem
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Achim Kleuker
Kunstgewerbemuseum | group reserveration

Kunstgewerbemuseum
Reservation for group visits

Esther Stocker, untitled, detail, 2023 © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / David von Becker
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / David von Becker
Herbstferien-Programm 2021 für Familien und Jugendliche
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart – Berlin / Valerie Schmidt
Official reopening of the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Applied Arts).
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / Achim Kleuker
Brautkleid aus dem Amsterdamer Modehause Viktor & Rolf aus dem Jahr 2006, entworfen für das schwedische Modehaus H&M.
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum
A Musical Gathering (detail), Fulda, ca. 1770, porcelain © Kunstgewerbemuseum / Saturia Linke
© Kunstgewerbemuseum / Saturia Linke
Dresses from the 1960s designed by Jean Patou, Christóbal Balenciaga, and Jean Dessès in the Kunstgewerbemuseum’s Fashion Gallery
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Achim Kleuker
A Musical Gathering (detail), Fulda, ca. 1770, porcelain
© Kunstgewerbemuseum / Saturia Linke

Permanent exhibition

Bowl with branches and butterflies, China, Jingdezhen, Imperial workshops, probably early to middle Qing dynasty, 17th/18th century, porcelain with onglaze painting
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kunstgewerbemuseum / Saturia Linke, Public Domain Mark 1.0

Permanent exhibition

Matthäikirchplatz
10785 Berlin

wheelchair accessible

U-Bahn: Potsdamer Platz
S-Bahn: Potsdamer Platz
Bus: Potsdamer Brücke, Potsdamer Platz Bhf / Voßstraße, Kulturforum, Philharmonie

Sun 11:00 - 18:00
Mon closed
Tue 10:00 - 18:00
Wed 10:00 - 18:00
Thu 10:00 - 18:00
Fri 10:00 - 18:00
Sat 11:00 - 18:00

Opening times on public holidays Opening Hours

Due to renovations and remodelling from 5 March to 1 June 2024, the Kunstgewerbemuseum is closing rooms on the ground floor displaying the medieval treasury.

Kunstgewerbemuseum Kulturforum
10,00 EUR Concessions 5,00
Kulturforum
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Kulturforum all exhibitions
20,00 EUR Concessions 10,00
all exhibitions
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Annual Ticket from 25,00 EUR
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Tel 030 - 266 42 42 42 (Mon - Fri, 9 am - 4 pm)
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Related Links

Museum and the City: “Design mit Verantwortung: Design Lab #8 im Kunstgewerbemuseum” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: “Atmoism – Über Regionalität und Nachhaltigkeit im Design” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: “„Den aktuellen Design-Diskurs ins Haus holen“ – Claudia Banz im Interview” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: “Zehnerpack: 10 Design-Ikonen des 20. Jahrhunderts” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: „Modemacher William Fan: „Spagat ­zwischen zeitlos und Zeitgeist“” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: „Die „Toiles de Jouy“ aus dem Kunstgewerbemuseum” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: „Zehnerpack: 10 Mode-Ikonen des 20. Jahrhunderts” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: „Mode für alle im neuen Mode-Atelier im Kunstgewerbemuseum” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: "Wie Julius Lessing erster Direktor des Kunstgewerbemuseums wurde” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)

Museum and the City: "Industrie und Geschmack – Ein Kunstgewerbemuseum für Berlin” on the blog of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (German only)