The Deutschlandmuseum is a museum of German history located at

Leipziger Platz Leipziger Platz is an octagonal square in the center of Berlin. It is located along Leipziger Straße east of (and adjacent to) Potsdamer Platz. History Layout and original architecture The square with the shape of an octagon, initially ...

7 in the

Mitte Mitte () is the first and most central borough of Berlin. The borough consists of six sub-entities: Mitte proper, Gesundbrunnen, Hansaviertel, Moabit, Tiergarten and Wedding. It is one of the two boroughs (the other being Friedrichshain-Kreuz ...

district of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It opened on 17 June 2023. The permanent exhibition is open all year round.

History

Construction of the new museum commenced at the end of 2021 and the museum opened its doors to the public on 17 June 2023. It was conceived by an interdisciplinary team of historians, game developers, graphic designers, educationalists, architects and designers as an interactive and immersive experience of history.

Management & Design

The concept design process for the exhibition was led by the director of the Deutschlandmuseum, Robert Rückel and designer Chris Lange (Creative Studio Berlin). Robert Rückel is responsible for the permanent exhibitions in the neighbouring German Spy Museum (2018) and previously led the team at the

DDR Museum The DDR Museum is a museum in the centre of Berlin. The museum is located in the former governmental district of East Germany, right on the river Spree, opposite the Berlin Cathedral. The museum is the 11th most visited museum in Berlin. It ...

(2006). Chris Lange has co-designed a range of visitor attractions in

Europa Park Europa-Park is a theme park in Rust, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Covering a total area of 95 hectares, twenty themed areas offer around a hundred attractions, including shows and fourteen roller coasters. The park also includes six hotels, a ca ...

(Golden Ticket Award for Pirates in Batavia 2020), Shrek's Adventure in London, the Legoland Discovery Center and the Rulantica water park (Thea Award 2020, Leading Edge Award 2020). Lange has been a key actor in the experience industry for more than 20 years and is considered an innovation driver. Jonas Kartenbeck and Constantin Bänfer provided support for the graphic and media design. They were responsible for the design of the German Spy Museum and the DDR Museum.

The Exhibition

Overview

The Deutschlandmuseum deploys a range of innovative media technology to curate an interactive exhibition. The 1400 m² permanent exhibition presents defining moments from twelve epochs of German history. Beginning in the forest of

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

in 9 AD, the visitor is introduced to the

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, also called the Varus Disaster or Varian Disaster () by Ancient Rome, Roman historians, was a major battle fought between an alliance of Germanic peoples and the Roman Empire between September 8 and 11, 9&nbs ...

. Other historical periods to feature include the

Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

in the Middle Ages,

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

and the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the

Thirty Years’ War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, while ...

, the German thinkers of the Enlightenment, the path to German national unification in the 19th century, the two world wars, the division of Germany into East and West during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the development of Germany after Reunification.

Special Features / 4D Museum

The permanent exhibition of the Deutschlandmuseum provides an overview of 2000 years of German history. Deploying a mix of interactive media and original exhibits, it provides its visitors with a 4D immersive experience. The exhibition features detailed recreations of historical settings, including medieval battlements, a printer’s workshop and a

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

trench. The museum creates a multi-sensory experience by incorporating odours, soundscapes and other stimuli. This involves various elements such as floorboards in a medieval castle that creak when walked upon, the reproduction of a forest, the smell of gas in a reproduction World War I trench, a brightly-lit shopping arcade from the “roaring twenties” and an

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

carriage. The use of such elements brings the character of an adventure park to a museum setting. The museum seeks to address a target audience of families with children. Whilst placing interactivity and fun in the foreground, its stated aim is to engage with central aspects of German history in an academically rigorous manner.

Gallery

File:DM 05-Aufklaerung rgb.jpg File:Deutschland Museum w Berlinie - stała ekspozycja.jpg File:DM 06-Deutscher Bund rgb.jpg File:DM 09-Nationalsozialismus rgb.jpg File:DM 09-Nationalsozialismus2 rgb.jpg File:DM 10-Deutsche TeilungWohnzimmer rgb.jpg File:DM 11-Zwei Staaten2 rgb.jpg File:DM 11-Zwei Staaten rgb.jpg File:DM 12-Wiedervereinigtes Deutschland3 rgb.jpg

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website

deutschlandmuseum - YouTube

Permanent exhibition of The Deutschlandmuseum (YouTube)

city-circle.de - Deutschlandmuseum

facebook.com/deutschlandmuseum

Companion 25hours Hotels
Museums in Berlin