Germany at a Glance

11 Schloss Charlottenburg The largest and most beautiful palace in Berlin is a shining example of baroque architecture. It was built from 1695 to 1699 as a summer residence for Sophie Charlotte, the consort of Elector Friedrich III, to plans by Johann Arnold Nering and Martin Grünberg, though at first only the central part was actually built. Vis-à-vis of the castle the buildings of the Museum Berggruen and the Collection Scharf-Gerstenberg had been commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm IV in the 1850's and built by Friedrich August Stüler. The Museum Berggruen presents outstanding work of Modern Art including paintings and sculp- tures by Picasso, works by Klee, Matisse and Giacometti. The Collection Scharf-Gersternberg traces common threads that weave through the evolution of the art of the fantastic, starting with works by Piranesi and Goya, and culminating in the museum's largest suite of works: the Surrealist art of such giants of 20 th century painting as Ernst and Magritte. • www.spsg.de • www.smb.museum/home.html Museum Island… Berlin's world-famous Museumsinsel (Museum Island) is wedged between the river Spree and Kupfergraben . The buildings on the island accommodate the archaeologi- cal collections and the art of the 19 th century. The Altes Museum , built in 1830 after the design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel, was the first building on the Museum Island and the first public museum in the Prussian state. It was followed by the Neues Museum , the Old National Gallery, the Bode Museum and the Pergamon Museum . In 1999 the Museum Island was added to the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. DuringWorldWar II, up to seventy percent of the museum buildings were destroyed. The restoration of the buildings as well as the return, reunification and reorganisation of the collections is part of the “Masterplan Museum Island”. • www.museumsinsel-berlin.de BERLIN Sights & Culture 11 10 9 12