Jüdisches Museum Berlin — Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum Berlin is the largest Jewish museum in Europe, presenting two thousand years of German-Jewish history across 3,500 square metres of exhibition space. Opened in 2001 in the Kreuzberg district, it is housed in a deconstructivist complex designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, whose zinc-clad lightning-bolt building has become one of the most celebrated works of twentieth-century architecture in Germany.
At a glance
- Type
- Jewish history and culture museum
- Period
- Opened January 2001; Libeskind building inaugurated September 2001
- Style
- Deconstructivism (Daniel Libeskind); original Baroque Collegienhaus (Philipp Gerlach, 1735)
- Location
- Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin, Germany
- Coordinates
- 52.5023° N, 13.3933° E
Overview
The Jewish Museum Berlin was opened in 2001 and is the largest Jewish museum in Europe. On 3,500 square metres of floor space, the museum presents the history of the Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day, with new focuses and new scenography. It consists of three buildings, two of which are new additions specifically built for the museum by architect Daniel Libeskind, whose design uses fractured geometry and calculated voids to embody the rupture of the Holocaust within the fabric of German-Jewish life.
History
Efforts to establish a Jewish museum in Berlin date to the 1970s, when the Berlin Jewish community and the city government began discussing the need for a permanent institution to document Jewish life in Germany. Daniel Libeskind won the architectural competition in 1989 — the same year the Berlin Wall fell — and construction proceeded through the 1990s. The building was completed in 1999 and drew over 350,000 visitors even before any exhibitions were installed, so powerful was the architectural experience alone. The museum formally opened to the public with its full collections in September 2001, and German-Jewish history is now documented in its collections, library, and archive, and reflected in an active programme of events.
What you see
Libeskind’s zinc extension is organised around three axes — the Axis of Exile, the Axis of Holocaust, and the Axis of Continuity — each physically disorienting in its sloping floors and narrow passages, forcing visitors to feel as well as understand history. The permanent exhibition moves chronologically from medieval Jewish communities in the Holy Roman Empire through Enlightenment emancipation, the Nazi persecution, and the reconstruction of Jewish life in post-war Germany. Outdoor installations include Menashe Kadishman’s Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves), a field of iron faces covering the floor of the Garden of Exile.
Cultural significance
The Jewish Museum Berlin is both a memorial and a living cultural institution, confronting Germany’s most traumatic history while celebrating the depth and richness of Jewish civilisation in German lands. Libeskind’s building is internationally recognised as a masterwork of deconstructivist architecture, studied in every major school of architecture. As the largest institution of its kind in Europe, it plays a central role in German civic memory and in the global conversation about how nations reckon with genocide.
Practical information
- Address
- Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin, Germany
- Admission
- Check official website for current fees; reduced rates for students and seniors
- Hours
- Check official website for current opening times
- Website
- jmberlin.de
Getting there
The museum is best reached by U-Bahn line U6 (Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie stop) or U1/U3 (Hallesches Tor stop). Several bus lines including M41 and 248 stop in the immediate vicinity on Lindenstraße.