Martin-Gropius-Bau

Martin-Gropius-Bau, originally a museum of applied arts and a listed historical monument since 1966, is a well-known Berlin exhibition hall located at Niederkirchnerstraße 7 in Berlin-Kreuzberg.

History and architecture

The building was erected between 1877 and 1881 by the architects Martin Gropius (a great uncle of Walter Gropius) and Heino Schmieden in the neo-Renaissance style. The building officially opened in 1881. The ground plan is quadratic (length of each side c. 70 m; building height c. 26 m). The exhibition rooms surround a grandiose atrium decorated with mosaics and the coats of arms of German states by sculptor Otto Lessing.

Originally designed to house Berlin's Museum of Applied Arts, after World War I the building housed Berlin’s Museum for Prehistory and Early History and the East Asian Art Collection. It was severely damaged in 1945 during the last weeks of World War II, and reopened in 1981 after post war reconstruction beginning in 1978. Further renovation took place in 1998/1999 resulting in what is often described as one of Germany’s most beautiful historic exhibition buildings.