Visit the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin: tickets, prices, schedules

Passionate about Art? Don’t miss the Alte Nationalgalerie of Berlin, which we deliver all the secrets in this article!

The Alte Nationalgalerie, or the Old National Gallery, is certainly one of the most important museums in Berlin and Germany. With the Altes Museum (former Museum), the Neues Museum (New Museum), the Bode-Museum (Bode Museum) and the Pergamonmuseum (Musée de Pergame), they form the Île aux Musées, a set of cultural places listed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site. This museum, in the style of a temple dating from ancient times, is home to some of the masterpieces of classical, romantic and European impressionist art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Are you planning a trip to the German capital? We have compiled all the information you need to know before visiting the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin!

History of the Alte Nationalgalerie

The Alte Nationalgalerie was founded in 1861, thanks to the legacy of the banker Heinrich Wagener to Prussia of more than 260 works, including paintings by Karl Friedrich Schinkel and Caspar David Friedrich. It was stipulated in this legacy that these paintings should be publicly displayed in an appropriate place.

The monument in the form of a Greek temple was designed by Friedrich Wilhelm IV, king of Prussia from 1840 to 1861, and designed by architects Friedrich August Stüler, then Johann Heinrich Strack, both Schinkel students. The Alte Nationalgalerie of Berlin was inaugurated in March 1876, after 10 years of construction.

During the Second World War (1939-1945), the museum lost many works and suffered significant damage during the shelling. It was only partially renovated to reopen in 1949. At the time of divided Germany, some paintings were stored in other galleries but the collection was reunited after the fall of the Berlin Wall (1989). In 1998, the Nationalgalerie of Berlin closed its doors for renovation, before reopening in 2001, on the occasion of its 125th anniversary.

Originally, the monument of the Alte Nationalgalerie welcomed the entire collection of the National Gallery. Today, the works of this collection are divided between the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche (Church of Friedrichswerder), the Berggruen Museum (Museum of Berggruen), Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart (Musée d’Art Contemporain de la Gare de Hamburg), la Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery), the Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg (Scharf-Gerstenberg Collection) and the current Nationalgalerie Alte.

What to see and do at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin?

The Alte Nationalgalerie of Berlin is a harmonious whole, so the richness of its collections is at the height of the monument that houses them. So, what is there to discover in this museum in singular history? Which artists and artistic currents are highlighted?

The monument

The visit of the Alte Nationalgalerie of Berlin begins on your arrival, at the bottom of the steps of this monument in the form of a Greek temple, survived on a huge pedestal. His superb carved portico and impressive columns, but also the sculptures that decorate the monument. The most imposing of them is a statue of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm IV on his horse, dating from 1886.

Permanent exhibitions

The Alte Nationalgalerie of Berlin is composed of three floors on which 1,800 paintings and 1,500 sculptures are distributed.

• First floor

On the first floor, you will start your visit by the sculpture room, where the famous sculptural works of the Thinking of Auguste Rodin (1881-1883) and Princesses Luise and Friederike (1795-1797) by Johann Gottfried Schadow. You will then access the paintings of romantic painters John Constable and Gustave Courbet. Finally, a room is devoted to German artist Adolph Menzel, considered one of the most famous Berlin painters of the second half of the 19th century. It is, in particular, the source of the table The Iron Laminator (1872-1875).

• Second floor

On the second floor, impressionism is honoured, with works by German painter Max Liebermann, and French precursors Claude Monet, Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Auguste Renoir. But are also on this floor the paintings of German artists Hans von Marées, Anselm Feuerbach, and Arnold Böcklin, one of the representatives of German symbolism. A version of the work The Island of the Dead (1883) of the latter is exposed to the Alte Nationalgalerie.

• Third floor

On the third floor you will find works of the nineteenth century including paintings The Monk on the Waterfront (1808-1810) and Landscape Champêtre, Le Matin (1822) by Caspar David Friedrich, or The Gothic Church on a Rock Near the Sea (1815) by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. Or also paintings by Carl Blechen, and the frescoes of the Nazarene – Painter artists from the Germanic countries of the early nineteenth century - for the Casa Bartholdy of Rome.

Temporary exhibitions

Temporary exhibitions are also regularly established and are generally available for several months.

How to go to the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin?

To visit the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, head to the heart of the German capital, and more specifically the Île aux Musées, at the edge of the Spree. Choose the appropriate means of transport between:

• Metro : U-Bahn U6 to Friedrichstraße Station
• The train : S-Bahn S1, S2, S25 or S26 to Friedrichstraße station, or S-Bahn S3, S5, S7 or S9 to Hackescher Markt station
• The tram : Tram M1 or 12 to Am Kupfergraben, or Tram M4, M5 or M6 to Hackescher Markt
• The bus : TXL bus to Staatsoper, Bus 100 or 200 to Lustgarten or Bus 147 to Friedrichstraße

Schedules & Rates of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin

HORARI

Before you go to the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, know that the museum is open daily (except Monday) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. , and until 8 pm on Thursday.

Note : - The ticket sales and the last entries are made no later than 30 minutes before the museum is closed. - Every year, the museum closes its doors on Christmas Eve, December 24, as well as on the day of New Year's Eve, December 31.

RATES

The prices to visit the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin are as follows:

• Adult : 10€
• Reduced price (students, people with disabilities...) : 5€
• Free for children under 18

Don’t hesitate to buy your tickets online to save time!