Bode-Museum — Attraction in Berlin

The Bode Museum an important attraction at Museum Island in Berlin. Here you will find Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque period sculptures, artworks, coins, medals and other artefacts spaced over two floors of a beautiful neo-classical building situated at the northwest point of Museum Island.

The Bode Museum is open from 10am to 6pm daily with extended hours to 8pm on Thursday. Entry fee is €10 per person. Note, that entry into the museum is covered under the Berlin Museum Pass (€24 per person), a worthwhile Pass to consider purchasing if you intend to visit 2-3+ major museums during your time in Berlin.

We very much enjoyed the architecture, scale and layout of the Bode Museum. It is monumental in appearance from the outside and the interior is equally impressive with large halls and galleries with high ceilings and classical features which make for a nice museum viewing experience.

There are numerous impressive sculptures to see within the Bode. There was a Antonio Canova exhibition being held during our visit that we enjoyed. We also found the Byzantine apse mosaic and Gothic period altarpieces and woodworks nice to see. Overall, you can easily spend a couple hours sightseeing in the Bode without becoming bored. Then make your way to the next museum of choice at Museum Island.

Note: Cameras are allowed at the museum so you can take as many pictures as you like during your visit.

Note: There are free lockers you can make use of at Bode Museum. This allows you to view the gallery rooms more freely and comfortably during your visit.

Note: There is a nice cafe on the second floor, overlooking the grand hall below. This is nice location and atmosphere for those who feel the need for a break to rest their feet or to enjoy a coffee and cake during their visit...

Of note, this review is for the Café, and NOT the actual museum. But hopefully, the museum administration will read this, and carefully reconsider their choice of a food service vendor on their premises. 2pm on 01 January 2025, an hour prior to the start of a classical music concert in the museum , I wanted to grab a snack and some hot tea. The overpriced apple cake was stale and the water for the tea was barely lukewarm. I returned to the counter, and politely asked the gentleman serving if I might please have some actual 'hot' water for my tea. He instantly became irate and said that will be one euro. When I objected to paying this, he became more belligerent, and was actually yelling at me! I stood my ground, took the water which was actually hot this time, and did not pay. I asked to speak to the manager, and he said that no such person exists. Fine. I returned to my table in the corner, in order to drink my tea in peace, and much to my astonishment, he left his post from behind the counter with a long queue of customers, and proceder to scream at me in a loud voice! As a Registered Nurse of 4 decades, I recognize psychotic and potentially violent behavior, and thought this guy was actually going to physically assault me! Fortunately, a nearby museum security guard who witnessed what was happening intervened, and the man returned to his post with other incredulous customers looking on. My entire day, and the lovely concert for which I paid 55 Euro was ruined. I look forward to hearing from someone in the museum administration regarding this...

The sculpture collection displays artwork of the Christian Orient (with an emphasis on Coptic Egypt), sculptures from Byzantium and Ravenna, sculptures of the Middle Ages, the Italian Gothic, and the early Renaissance, including the controversial Flora attributed by Bode to Leonardo da Vinci but now widely argued to be a 19th century work. Late German Gothic works are also represented by Tilman Riemenschneider, the south German Renaissance, and Prussian Baroque art up to the 18th century. In the future selected works of the Gemäldegalerie will be integrated into the sculpture collection. This is reminiscent of William von Bode's concept of "style rooms", in which sculptures, paintings, and crafts are viewed together, as was usual in upper middle-class private collections. The Münzkabinett ("coin cabinet") is one of the world's largest numismatic collections. Its range spans from the beginning of minting in the 7th century BC in Asia Minor up to the present day. With approximately 500,000 items, the collection is a unique archive for historical research, while its medal collection also makes it an important art exhibition. Writing in The Financial Times on the occasion on the museum's reopening in 2006, Neil MacGregor, director of the British Museum, hailed “the most comprehensive display of European sculpture anywhere.” He added: “It is no exaggeration to say that in the new Bode Museum, Europe will be able for the first time to read its history — aesthetic and religious, intellectual and political — in a...