Museumsportal Berlin

From October 2011 to October 2012 the National Museums in Berlin will be presenting the first major exhibition dedicated entirely to the ancient city of Pergamon. To accompany the exhibition, the company Asisi Visual Culture will erect a new monumental 360° panorama of the city in the cour d'honneur of the museum on the Museum Island.

The city, situated on the west coast of Turkey, famous for its impressive monumental structures, its sculpture workshops, its important library and school of philosophers, was a flourishing centre of Greek art and culture in the Hellenistic period. The Pergamenian kings ruled over great parts of Asia Minor and exerted considerable power in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The National Museums in Berlin and the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) have been conducting research in Pergamon for 130 years - with spectacular results! Now over a surface of approx. 1500 square metres many exhibits, never seen before, from the Collection of Classical Antiquities in Berlin will go on show in the north wing of the Pergamonmuseum. Ancient sculptures, architectural elements, mosaics, tools, musical instruments, votive offerings and technical devices all reveal something of the city's art and culture. In addition, countless drawings, paintings, photographs and archive records will serve to document the fascinating history of the discovery of artefacts and early research activity on the excavation sites. A special section will be dedicated in the show to the impact that Pergamenian art, and the famous Pergamon Altar in particular, had on art and literature at the turn of the last century.