13.06.2013
Yesterday President Joachim Gauck laid the cornerstone for the reconstruction of the Berlin Palace in a ceremony that took place directly opposite the Museumsinsel, on the site of the future Humboldt-Forum. The ceremony featured a panel discussion between Peter Ramsauer, Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development, Bernd Neumann, Minister of State for Culture, and the current mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. Hermann Parzinger, President of Prussian Cultural Heritage, declared that the Humboldt-Forum will prove to be a fascinating place for cultural exchange and cultural education, used by people from all over the world.
Citizens of and visitors to the capital have the chance to see the progress for themselves, during a Building Site Open Day on 16 June 2013, from 10 to 6 p.m. The day will allow them to visit the site, view the foundation stone for the rebuilding of the Berlin Palace, and find out more about proposals for the Humboldt-Forum. Coinciding with the event, admission to the Humboldt-Box on the day will be free.
Construction work on the grand building should be completed by 2018, with the non-European collections of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, the Zentral- und Landesbibliothek Berlin, and Humboldt-Universität moving into the new premises by mid-2019. Until then, organizers aim to hold an Open Day at the construction site once a year.