Neues Museum

Here you are standing before the Neues Museum, meaning the New Museum.
If it doesn’t seem all that new to you, that’s just because it is simply named in response to the Altes Museum, the Old Museum, next door. A few years after the island’s first museum opened, architect Friedrich August Stüler was commissioned to build a second one in order to welcome the rest of the collections. In 1859, the Neues Museum was completed and opened its doors. Today, it is considered one of the finest examples of 19th-century German neoclassical architecture. Unfortunately, the building was severely damaged by bombings during World War II, leaving Roman and Egyptian statues buried beneath the rubble. In 1985, an emergency security plan began on the site. In 1997, the renowned British architect, David Chipperfield, was assigned for its restoration. The exterior facade was renovated while preserving visible scars from war. The interior was restored but was redone differently than the original.
Since its reopening in 2009, you can now admire impressive collections of the Museum of Prehistory and Early History, as well as the renowned Egyptian Museum. And as you might have guessed, this is where you’ll need to go to discover the hypnotizing beauty of Nefertiti by admiring the famous bust of the Egyptian queen, wife of Pharaoh Akhenaton. A fascinating museum that will delight history enthusiasts !