Natural History Museum Berlin

The Museum für Naturkunde holds around thirty million specimens. Its dinosaur hall centres on a Giraffatitan skeleton mounted at 13.27 metres, listed as the tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world, excavated at Tendaguru in what is now Tanzania on German expeditions between 1909 and 1913. The Berlin Archaeopteryx, found in Solnhofen limestone and acquired in 1880, is the most complete specimen known and the one usually reproduced. Wet collections of specimens in alcohol are displayed as a wall of jars.

History

When the Berlin university opened in 1810 its scientific collections were combined and opened to the public, and by around 1880 they filled about two thirds of the main building on Unter den Linden; a new building at Invalidenstrasse 43 was built between 1875 and 1880 and opened on 2 December 1889. Breaking with the practice of the time, the museum put only part of its holdings on display and kept the main collection for research, and a first extension followed between 1914 and 1917. The east wing was badly damaged on 3 February 1945, though about 75 percent of the collection had been moved to safety, and on 16 September 1945 it was the first Berlin museum to reopen (Wikipedia, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin).

What you'll find

• The Giraffatitan - the tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world.
• The Berlin Archaeopteryx - the most complete specimen of the fossil bird.
• The wet collection - a wall of specimens preserved in alcohol.
• The mineral halls - meteorites and a large systematic mineral collection.

When to go

Year-round; the museum closes Mondays. Weekends and school holidays are very busy with families. The Archaeopteryx is in a darkened case.

Practical notes

It closes Mondays and is crowded at weekends. Parts of the building have been under long-term renovation. The Tendaguru material's origins are contested.

Nearby

The Hackesche Höfe lie southeast; central Mitte is south.

Key facts