The ambitious renovation of the Pergamon Museum, the most visited museum in Berlin, is kicking into high gear. The main building is expected to be complete by 2019, while a newly constructed wing dedicated to the art of Egypt is due to open in 2025-26.
“The facility has had no significant change in 60 years,” says Christina Haak, the deputy director general of Berlin State Museums. “The biggest challenge is that a part of the museum is a giant construction site, while another part remains open.”
To protect fragile antiquities, the museum has installed a system of high-tech sensors to measure any tremors caused by construction. As part of the project, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which runs Berlin State Museums, is also creating an underground “archaeological walk” to link four of the five institutions on Berlin’s Museum Island and allow visitors to enter with a single ticket.
