Kulturforum

The Kulturforum is a cultural complex in the Tiergarten district of Berlin, developed across the latter half of the twentieth century as a counterpart to the museum island on the other side of the divided city. Conceived under the direction of architect Hans Scharoun, whose Philharmonie anchors the ensemble, the site brings together several of Berlin's most significant collections and institutions on a single campus. The Gemäldegalerie holds one of the world's foremost collections of European painting from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries, while the Kunstgewerbemuseum and the Kupferstichkabinett add further depth across the decorative arts and works on paper.

The complex sits close to Potsdamer Platz and the former course of the Berlin Wall, giving it a particular resonance within the city's postwar and reunification history. Visitors moving between the galleries encounter Scharoun's angular Philharmonie and the State Library he also designed, making the Kulturforum as notable for its architecture as for the collections it houses.