DESIGNPANOPTIKUM- surreal museum for industrial objects — Attraction in Berlin

Designpanoptikum (€8 per person) is a private museum featuring a 'surreal collection of industrial objects' which fill a handful of rooms the ground floor venue situated along Torstraße between Rosenthaler Platz and Oranienburger Tor U stations.

Entry times are somewhat organised upon the hour when the museum owner (photographer/collector/artist) gives a brief introduction to those who have arrived at that time. He then allows you to explore the rooms on your own and returns from time to time to point out a handful of particular items for you to see.

Throughout, the rooms are cluttered with old industrial objects, many medical in nature, coming from hospitals from decades long past. Some items are on their own, unmodified while others have been greatly altered into interesting creations for you to view.

What the museum lacks in terms of being curated, it makes up for with surreal and thought provoking creations scattered throughout. You can easily find yourself browsing, thinking and trying to figure out what the pieces are and what they mean for an hour or so.

In the end, we enjoyed our visit to Designpanoptikum, finding it a genuinly unique and memorable place to visit in Berlin. Not the sort of place that will be appealing to everyone but for those who enjoy surrealism, you will likely enjoy Designpanoptikum.

Note: Photography is allowed and encouraged at...

Dear Pergamon Museum Administration,

As a citizen of Türkiye and someone who deeply values the cultural heritage of my homeland, I am writing to respectfully request the return of the Anatolian artifacts currently exhibited in your institution, particularly the magnificent Pergamon Altar (Bergama) and the Market Gate of Miletus (Aydın).

These masterpieces were removed from the lands of Anatolia through colonial and illegitimate practices during the late Ottoman period, without the consent of the communities and authorities to whom they rightfully belonged.

While I understand and appreciate the Pergamon Museum’s role in preserving history, I firmly believe that these monuments belong in their homeland, where they can be experienced in their proper historical and cultural context. Returning them would correct a historical injustice and set an example of ethical stewardship of heritage.

I kindly urge you to engage with the relevant Turkish authorities to begin the process of repatriation of these invaluable treasures.

Thank you for your understanding and for considering this heartfelt request.

Sincerely, İsmail...

PA step through the doors of Design Panoptikum, a Museum of Extraordinary Objects, is a step into a wonderfully unnerving world of retro-tech attached to body parts, and medical equipment paired with common items from eras spanning past and future.

Troubling imagery coupled with a self-described “space carnival atmosphere” lends to a spooky yet whimsical world of doll-like mechanical monsters and a place where people seem to have been put together with spare parts. Lounging on rare furniture under a substantial collection of bizarre lamps, these eerie figures and their surrounding furnishings are designed from historical objects from aviation, the medical field, the film industry and more.

Owner Vlad will, if you’re lucky, give you a personal tour of his half design museum, half horror house of...