Pergamon Museum renovation costs and timeline spiral, troubling German government
The Pergamon Museum on Berlin's Museum Island, closed since October 2023, faces escalating costs and delays. Originally estimated at €250 million, the renovation now exceeds €1.5 billion, with full reopening pushed from 2037 to possibly 2043. The project, part of the Masterplan Museumsinsel Berlin initiated under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and led by David Chipperfield's firm, includes a new wing, connections to the Bode and Neues Museums, and a bridge. Der Spiegel reports underground cavities, contractor disputes, and tensions between the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation are hampering progress. Partial reopening for the Pergamon Altar is expected in 2027.
Key facts
- Pergamon Museum closed to public since October 2023
- Renovation costs have risen from €250 million to over €1.5 billion
- Full reopening delayed from 2037 to possibly 2043
- Masterplan Museumsinsel Berlin launched under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder
- Architect David Chipperfield's firm leads the renovation
- Pergamon Altar closed since 2014, partial reopening planned for 2027
- Underground cavities, contractor lawsuits, and disputes between federal office and foundation slow progress
- Museum founded in 1930, houses Pergamon Altar and other antiquities
Entities
Artists
- Yadegar Asisi
Institutions
- Pergamon Museum
- Altes Museum
- Neues Museum
- Alte Nationalgalerie
- Bode Museum
- James-Simon-Galerie
- Museum Island
- Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz
- Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
- Der Spiegel
- David Chipperfield Architects
- UNESCO
- Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Museum Island
- Kupfergraben
- Turkey