Museum Island and Nikolaiviertel

The James Simon Gallery features a row of slender, light-colored stone columns that rise high above the Spree Canal. This building serves as the grand entrance to Berlin’s Museum Island. Architect David Chipperfield designed it to bridge…

The Alte Nationalgalerie sits on Museum Island as a massive, elevated temple of Corinthian columns with a wide staircase climbing toward a bronze equestrian statue of King Frederick William the Fourth. Designed to resemble a Roman temple,…

Eighteen massive Ionic columns stretch across the front of the Altes Museum, forming a long, open porch that stands in sharp contrast to the plain stone wall behind it. Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed this building in the eighteen…

The Berlin Cathedral features a massive, weathered copper dome that looms over the Lustgarten, distinct from the surrounding neighborhood by its sheer scale and the deep, greenish patina of its roof. Built for the Hohenzollern dynasty, the…

The Humboldt Forum displays a bright white facade decorated with elaborate stone carvings and sits behind a reconstructed Baroque exterior. This massive structure occupies the site of the former Palace of the Republic, which the East…

The twin spires of St. Nicholas Church rise above the surrounding buildings in Berlin, marking the site where the city began. Built in the thirteenth century, this stone hall church served as the heart of the medieval merchant settlement.…

The Knoblauchhaus features a tall, narrow facade painted a pale yellow, punctuated by a series of evenly spaced windows and a heavy, dark entrance door. Built in the seventeen sixties, it served as both a residence and a business hub for…

The Ephraim-Palais stands at the corner of Poststrasse with a curved, gold-leafed facade that distinguishes it from the surrounding brickwork. Berliners once called this the most beautiful corner in the city. Built in the seventeen sixties…