Purpose/Activities:

The National Museums in Berlin, housed in historical builduíngs, constitute a Universal museum for the preservation, research and mediation of treasures of art and culture of the entire history of humanity. Their collections comprise the European as well as extra-European art, archeology and ethnology.

The origins of the National Museums in Berlin date from the foundation of the Royal Museum by Friedrich Wilhelm III. of Prussia. This day they belong to the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz ('Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation'). Further members of the Foundation are the State Library, the State Archive, the Ibero-American Institute and the State Institute for Music Research which is associated to the Museum of Musical Instruments. Supported jointly by the German Federal Government and the German Federal States the National Museums in Berlin regard themselves as an institution of cultural federalism in Germany.

The National Museums are located at five places in Berlin: the Museum Island (Berlin-Mitte), the Kulturforum Potsdamer Platz (Berlin-Tiergarten), Charlottenburg, Dahlem and Köpenick. The following museums and institutes are administrated jointly by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation's General Office:

Museum Island Berlin/Berlin Mitte:

Pergamon Museum (Collection of Classical Antiquities, Museum of the Ancient Near East, Museum of Islamic Art)

New Museum (Aegyptian Museum and Papyrus Collection, Museum of Prehistory and Early History, Works of the Collection of Classical Antiquities)

Altes Museum (Collection of Classical Antiquities)

Bode-Museum (Sculpture Collection and Museum of Byzantine Art, Works from the Old Master Paintings, Numismatic Collection)

Old National Gallery

Friedrichswerder Church (National Gallery)

Kulturforum Potsdamer Platz/Berlin-Tiergarten:

New National Gallery

 Gallery of Old Master Paintings - Gemäldegalerie

 Museum of Decorative Arts - Kunstgewerbemuseum

Museum of Copper Engraving Prints and Drawings

Art Library

Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum of Contemporary Art

Charlottenburg/Berlin-Charlottenburg:

Museum Berggruen (National Gallery)

Collection Scharf-Gerstenberg (National Gallery)

Museum of Photography (Art Library - Collection of Photography, Helmut Newton Foundation)

Rathgen Research Laboratory

Replica Workshop

Dahlem/Berlin-Dahlem:

Dahlem Museums (Ethnological Museum, Museum of Asian Art, Museum of European Cultures)

Institute of Museum Research

Köpenick/Berlin-Köpenick:

Köpenick Palace (Museum of Decorative Arts)

Publications:

 All publications of the National Museums in Berlin (in German),

 Yearbook of Prussian Cultural Heritage (in German).