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

Profile of the Vorderasiatische Museum

In the Vorderasiatisches Museum (Museum of the Ancient Near East) visitors have the chance to take in one of the wonders of the ancient world: the gorgeously coloured Ishtar Gate and the Babylonian Processional Way. The Vorderasiatisches Museum offers museum-goers a first-hand experience with the reconstruction of these iconic architectural structures from the ancient city of Babylon, along with a host of other artefacts that illustrate the cultures of the ancient Near East.

The ancient cities of Mesopotamia had long since fallen into ruin and were virtually forgotten when German archaeologists began excavations in Babylon, Assur, Uruk and at other sites in the former Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. The finds were divided up among the participants in the digs and the respective antiquities authorities. Thanks to the meticulous documentation made on site, back in Berlin the architectural monuments and artworks were able to be reconstructed through laborious restoration work, and they are now on display to the public in the museum.

Today, the Vorderasiatisches Museum is home to one of the most significant collections of Near East antiquities in the world. Highlights of the collection include the victory stele of the Assyrian King Esarhaddon, unearthed in 1888 in Zincirli in what is now southeast Turkey, along with the shimmering white praying figure from the Ishtar Temple in Assur, or the finely cut cylinder seals from Assur, Uruk and Babylon. Among the collection’s 30,000 cuneiform tablets there are fragments of literary texts as well as legal documents. 

The objects in the collection bear witness to 6,000 years of art and culture in Mesopotamia, Syria and Anatolia. They are displayed in the Pergamonmuseum, where along with the the Antikensammlung and the Museum für Islamische Kunst, the Vorderasiatiches Museum tells of the rich history of the Near East and the influence these civilisations had on the cultures of Classical Antiquity and the Islamic cultures that succeeded them.

Renovation of the Pergamonmuseum

As part of the Museumsinsel Master Plan, the Pergamonmuseum has been undergoing staggered renovations since 2013 based on plans by the architectural firm O. M. Ungers. The undertaking is being carried out in two construction phases. The hall containing the Pergamon Alter, the North Wing and the Hellenistic Hall are closed for the first construction phase.

The second construction phase involves the additional closure of the Pegamonmuseum’s South Wing with the Museum für Islamic Kunst from 23 October 2023, as well as the Ishtar Gate, the Processional Way of the Vorderasiatisches Musuem (Museum of the Ancient Near East) and the hall containing the Market Gate of Miletus.

The structural completion of the North Hall with the newly installed Museum für Islamische Kunst and hall containing the Pergamon Altar is planned for 2025. The opening of this section of the museum is expected in spring 2027. We appreciate your understanding for the inconvenience resulting from the closures.

Visit Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama

Significant artefacts from Pergamon along with the monumental panorama by Yadegar Asisi are on display in the exhibition building Pergamonmuseum. Das Panorama, located in the direct vicinity of the Museumsinsel. The Pergamonmuseum is completely closed to the public due to construction work.