Altes Museum

The Altes Museum, built between 1823 and 1830 after the design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, is one of the most important works in the architecture of Classicism. With a lucidly ordered exterior and an interior structure of great precision after the Ancient Greek style, Schinkel pursued Humboldt's idea of the museum as an educational institution open to the public.

The monumental order of the 18 fluted ionic columns, the wide stretch of the atrium, the rotunda - an explicit reference to the pantheon in Rome - and finally the grand staircase are all architectural elements which, up to this point, were reserved for stately buildings.

Originally built to house all of Berlin's art collections, the Altes Museum has accommodated the Collection of Classical Antiquities since 1904. Between 1943 and 1945 the building was severely damaged by fire. Reconstruction work continued up until 1966. Since 1998 the Collection of Classical Antiquities has displayed its Greek collection, including the treasury, on the ground floor of the Altes Museum.