There are over 170 different museums and galleries found within Berlin alone, but one museum in particular that is world famous and loved by all is the Bode Museum! Being the fourth museum to be erected in the absolutely awesome Museum Island, the Bode Museum stands to be one of the oldest museums in not just Germany, but the whole of Europe too!
Originally built as a repository for Friedrich Wilhelm’s family art collections that had been accumulated over a period of three hundred years, the Bode Museum has since been open to the public and acquired a name change. Bode Museum was once known as the Kaiser Friedrich-Museum but was later given a new name in honour of the German art historian Wilhelm von Bode, who was the museums first curator.
Those with a passion for art, architecture and history will relish in the museums astonishing interior and over 3000 sculptures! Bode’s extensive art collection ranges from byzantine, medieval and even the renaissance eras! Forget modern art, dark and ancient masterpieces are what make this museum the sensation that it is! In fact the only museum in the entire world to house a bigger collection of sculpture from the Eastern Roman Empire is Istanbul’s Archaeological Museum. But of course the Bode Museum makes up for this in other areas!
If you haven’t heard already then let me have the pleasure of telling you that the Bode Museum houses one of the world’s largest numismatic collections! You’ll find coins from as early as 7th Century BC right through to the 21st century. Just imagine a place that holds 102,000 coins used in Ancient Greece and even 50,000 coins from ancient Rome. It certainly puts anybody else’s coin collection to shame. Over 15,000 minting tools, a vast collection of ancient medals and huge accumulation of medieval seals also make up this superb numismatic collection!
Of course it’s not just the inside of the museum that is stunning. Surrounded by luscious waters of the River Spree and comprising of several inner courtyards, the Bode Museum is a fantastic place to take a nice relaxing stroll.
Unfortunately admission usually isn’t free unless you check out the Bode Museum on a Thursday just before closing time. But what’s four Euros to you when you can explore the thousands of art pieces from hundreds of years ago! The museum is usually open from 10am to 6pm apart from Thursdays when it extends its opening hours to 10pm.
So is the Bode Museum really worth checking out? Well, you would be mad not to go! You don’t have to have a major interest in art to appreciate its history, architecture and atmosphere. The advantage of it being located in Museum Island means you are just next door to other renowned museums that simply beg to be visited! There is a reason the Bode Museum has been considered to be one of the world’s greatest attractions – you will see for yourself once you visit this jaw dropping museum!
