Natural History Museum Berlin
The world's tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton, and the original Archaeopteryx fossil that showed birds came from reptiles.
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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 provenance of that material is the subject of continuing discussion with Tanzania. 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.
What you actually see
- 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.
Honest expectations
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.
What to pack for Natural History Museum Berlin
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
