Culture | Mission accomplished

Berlin’s Museum Island gets a much-needed revamp

The new James Simon Gallery turns the five existing museums into a coherent culture complex

By C.G. | BERLIN

MUSEUM ISLAND holds great treasures. Eight collections explore the development of European culture from antiquity to the 19th century; there are galleries devoted to Byzantine art as well as artefacts from the Ancient Near East and objects from Muslim societies. Nestled between the Spree River and the Kupfergraben in the heart of Berlin, the five museums together attract more than 3m visitors a year.

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