German Historical Museum (Deutsches Historisches Museum)

The German Historical Museum occupies the oldest building on Unter den Linden — the baroque Zeughaus, or royal arsenal, a late-seventeenth-century edifice whose stone soldiers and warrior masks on the exterior set the tone for what waits inside: a permanent collection spanning two thousand years of German history, from medieval trading towns through the Reformation and the wars of the nineteenth century to the catastrophes of the twentieth. Where Germany’s history goes, European history follows, and the museum does not flinch from this weight. The experience is dense, sometimes harrowing, and thoroughly necessary.

History of the German Historical Museum

The Zeughaus was built between 1695 and 1730 as the Prussian royal arsenal, its baroque facade decorated with 22 keystones carved as dying soldiers — a work by Andreas Schlüter that counts among the finest baroque sculptures in Germany. The building served various military and state functions through the Prussian and German imperial periods, housing weapons, trophies, and military equipment. It was damaged in the Second World War and its postwar fate differed between the two Berlins: in the East, it became the Museum of German History of the German Democratic Republic, presenting history through a Marxist-Leninist framework. After German reunification in 1990, the museum was refounded as the Deutsches Historisches Museum with a mandate to present German history critically and comprehensively.

The I.M. Pei glass pyramid — added as a new entrance and exhibition space in 2003 — provides a contemporary counterpoint to the baroque Zeughaus, its spiral staircase and temporary exhibition galleries making it one of the finest postmodern additions to a historic building in Germany. The combination of the old and new creates a museum that is physically interesting throughout, not merely in its displays. The Pei building also hosts some of the museum’s most important temporary exhibitions, which have covered subjects from the German colonial period to the history of the Second World War with scholarly rigour and public accessibility.

What to See

The permanent exhibition covers 2,000 years of German history across 8,000 square metres of the Zeughaus’s four floors, organised chronologically from the early medieval period to the post-reunification era. The medieval and early modern sections include significant archaeological finds, paintings, religious artefacts, and weapons from the Holy Roman Empire. The Reformation section contextualises Martin Luther’s break with Rome in vivid detail, with period prints, pamphlets, and objects that communicate the intellectual and social upheaval of the sixteenth century.

The twentieth century dominates the museum’s emotional weight. The sections covering the First World War, Weimar Republic, the rise of National Socialism, the Second World War, and the Holocaust are presented with a directness and self-critical honesty that reflects Germany’s distinctive post-war culture of historical reckoning. The DDR section in the postwar galleries is thoughtful and nuanced, avoiding both nostalgic Ostalgie and one-dimensional condemnation. The museum explicitly acknowledges Germany’s responsibility for the crimes of the Nazi period without reducing the entire national history to that catastrophe — a difficult balance that it largely maintains.

The I.M. Pei Annex

The I.M. Pei annex (2003) is architecturally significant in its own right — Pei’s last major building in Germany. The spiral staircase rising through the glass cylinder is one of the finest interior spaces in Berlin and is worth visiting purely as a work of architecture. The temporary exhibition space in the Pei building has an excellent track record: recent major temporary exhibitions have included retrospectives on German colonial history, the photography of the Nazi period, and European responses to the refugee crisis — all addressed with the scholarly seriousness that characterises the museum.

The museum’s location on Unter den Linden places it at the centre of Berlin’s historic court district, adjacent to the Berlin Palace (Humboldt Forum), Berlin Cathedral, and the Opera House. The Humboldt Forum immediately across the street houses the Berlin collections of non-European art and culture and is worth combining with a DHM visit for a full day on this historic boulevard.

Practical Information

• Tickets: Adults €10; reduced €5; under-18s free; Berlin Museum Pass valid
• Opening hours: Open daily 10:00 am–6:00 pm; closed Christmas Eve
• Best time to visit: Weekday mornings; the museum receives fewer visitors than Museum Island institutions and queues are rarely a problem
• Duration: 3–4 hours for the full permanent exhibition; 2 hours for highlights only
• Booking: Tickets available at the entrance; booking online recommended for large groups or special exhibitions

Local Insights

What locals know that guidebooks don’t always tell you:

• The 22 carved dying-soldier keystones on the Zeughaus facade are among the finest baroque sculptures in Germany and worth examining in detail before entering — stand at pavement level and look up at each one.
• The museum’s café in the inner courtyard of the Zeughaus is pleasant and less expensive than most tourist-area restaurants on Unter den Linden.
• The Humboldt Forum directly across the street is free on the first 4 hours of each visit for Berlin and Brandenburg residents — worth checking if this applies to international visitors during any promotional period.
• The museum’s audio guide is exceptional and provides significantly more context than the gallery labels alone — worth the small rental cost, particularly for the twentieth-century sections.
• The staircase of the I.M. Pei annex is one of the most photographed architectural interiors in Berlin — come in the morning when the glass spiral catches direct light from the east.

Getting There

• U-Bahn: U6 to Friedrichstraße; 5-minute walk east on Unter den Linden
• S-Bahn: S1/S2/S25 to Friedrichstraße; same walk as U-Bahn
• Bus: Routes 100 and 200 stop directly on Unter den Linden outside the museum
• On foot: 5 minutes from Brandenburg Gate; 10 minutes from Museum Island