About Bode Museum
Bode Museum was reopened in 2006, after massive renovation. It houses rich collection of German, French, Dutch and Italian sculpture, from medieval times to the 19th century. It covers various materials (marble, wood, bronze), and styles (from Gothic to Neoclassical art). There’s also great coin collection and an area with late-antique and Byzantine art.
When to visit Bode Museum
Bode Museum is closed on Mondays. You can visit it from Tuesday to Sunday, between 10 AM and 6 PM (Thursdays until 8 PM). You should check the opening times on public holidays on the website. Allow at least one hour and use the audio guide. Remember to look for interesting temporary exhibitions.
Bode Museum occupies north end of Museum Island. It’s probably less crowed than the other 4 museums on the Island. Make sure to visit at least one more of these remarkable institutions (Pergamon, Altes and Neues Museum, or Alte Nationalgalerie), particularly because of significant discounts you will get.
Why to visit Bode Museum
Court architect, Eberhard von Ihne, designed Bode Museum’s building in 1897. It was the fourth museum erected on Museum Island. It’s a three-winged object, built in Baroque style. The Museum bears the name of its founder and the first director, Wilhelm von Bode. It displays two permanent collections: the Sculpture Collection, with the Museum of Byzantine Art, and the Munzkabinett (Coin Cabinet).
Moreover, you can see some 150 paintings from the Gemaldegalerie. They are exhibited together with European sculpture, which enables visitors to compare art, and learn about it thoroughly. Here you can admire masterpieces, like Donatello’s Pazzi Madonna, terracottas by Luca della Robbia, or Antonio Canova’s Dancer. There are examples of important German sculpture, like Tilman Riemenschneider’s woks.
The selection of antiques is one of the largest in the world. You can see impressive number of Christian sarcophagi from Rome, mosaics, beautiful ivory carvings and even artifacts from Egypt. The interior is cleverly arranged to evoke the space from which the sculpture originates. Numismatic collection of Bode Museum is especially valuable. It contains over half a million objects (coins, medals, seals and tools).
Significance of Bode Museum
The most important part of the exhibition in Bode Museum is its numismatic collection, which is one of the largest in the world. It represents the history of human culture in metal works, from the first coins of the 7th century BC, to the euro coins of our days.
