Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin

The reunification of Berlin following German reunification led to a reconfiguration of the museum landscape after 1991. The aim was to bring together into one foundation the two major historic museums in the Eastern and Western parts of the city, as well as several smaller ones. The core of the new Stadtmuseum Berlin was formed by the Märkisches Museum, which was founded in 1874, and was moved to the building erected in 1908 in the Köllnischer Park in Berlin-Mitte, the Berlin Museum, which was founded in 1962, and had been housed in the former Superior Court of Justice building on Lindenstraße in Berlin-Kreuzberg since 1969 & 14 smaller institutions from all over the city.

The former Superior Court of Justice building was handed over by the Berlin Regional Administration to the newly-founded Jewish Museum in 1999 – marking a clear break in the Berlin museum landscape and in foundation work. The Stadtmuseum Berlin was losing one of its two central exhibition locations, including its warehouse and office spaces. In 2001, the German Federal Republic became the funding body for the Jewish Museum, and since then it has been running it as the Berlin Jewish Museum. Since 2006 the foundation has the mission of focussing on the museums in the centre of the city, and on the core themes of Berlin’s culture and history. The foundation has continued to develop over the years with this mission in mind. There are now five museums belonging to the Stadtmuseum Berlin: the Märkisches Museum, the Nikolaikirche, the Ephraim-Palais, the Knoblauchhaus and the Museumsdorf Düppel. The collections, which include over 4.5 million artefacts, were brought together into the “Poelzig-Halle” central warehouse in Berlin-Spandau. (Source: https://www.en.stadtmuseum.de/history-stiftung-stadtmuseum-berlin)