Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin: A World-class Collection of Romantic and Impressionist Masterpieces

This is part of a series of photographs from an unforgettable 21-day, three country, five city winter vacation to Europe with my ladyfriend (and fellow photographer) Serena in January, 2025. Our stops? Berlin, Rome, Naples, Bath & London

Going back through my series of photographs from what was an absolutely lovely (and chilly!) European vacation with Serena, I came across a gallery of images I had overlooked. So allow me to correct this egregious oversight with a look inside Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), just a short 12 minute walk from our hotel, the lovely NH Collection Berlin Mitte Friedrichstrasse in the historic center of Berlin.
 
The Alte Nationalgalerie is the original home of the Nationalgalerie, whose collections today are divided between the Neue Nationalgalerie, the Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche, Museum Berggruen and the Sammlung Scharf-Gerstenberg, part of Museum Island in the historic center of Berlin.
 

The Alte Nationalgalerie

The gallery was built from 1862 to 1876 by the order of King Frederick William IV of Prussia according to plans by Friedrich August Stüler and Johann Heinrich Strack in Neoclassical and Renaissance Revival styles. The basic architectural concept for the Alte Nationalgalerie – a temple-like building raised on a plinth decorated with motifs from antiquity – came from the king himself.
 

 
During World War II, the building was heavily damaged in Allied air raids. It was partly reopened in 1949, but reconstruction continued until 1969. The collection itself had gradually been evacuated with the war’s onset. Among other places, it was stored in Berlin’s anti-aircraft towers in Friedrichshain as well as in the salt and potash repositories in Merkers and Grasleben.
 

 
During the division of Germany, the 19th-century paintings that had survived the war in Western zones of occupation were housed in the Neue Nationalgalerie (view the gallery HERE), starting in 1968, and in Schloss Charlottenburg’s Gallery of Romanticism from 1986. After the fall of the Berlin wall, the growing collections were united in their original building, the Alte Nationalgalerie.
 

 
Between 1998 and 2001, the museum was renovated thoroughly by German architect HG Merz. Some extra halls were added on the uppermost floor and now contain the Romantic works. The three-year, $62 million renovation of the Alte Nationalgalerie was part of a refurbishment of Museum Island. The museum was finally re-opened in December 2001, marking its 125th anniversary.
 

 
Today, the Alte Nationalgalerie owns approximately 1800 paintings and 1500 sculptures, one of the largest collections of 19th-century sculptures and paintings in Germany. The collection is further enhanced by the unique harmony between the collection and the architectural style of the building in which it is housed.
 

 
As part of the Museum Island complex, the gallery was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 for its outstanding architecture and its testimony to the development of museums and galleries as a cultural phenomenon in the late 19th century. The Alte Nationalgalerie
is open from 10am-6pm from Tuesday-Sunday (closed on Mondays) with an adult ticket costing €16,00.
 
View the full gallery below…

This post wraps up our time in Naples (view the other posts HERE). This closes out our time in Berlin, which included us spending New Year’s Eve on the streets outside the Brandenburg Gate (and living to tell about it!). It’s a great city. Nuff said. My upcoming posts will cover our August 2025 trip to Galicia, Spain and our December 2025 trip to Ecuador so SUBSCRIBE HERE to not miss a future post. All the cool kids have already done it. Just saying…All photographs taken with the Xiaomi 13 UltraFor more information on the city of Berlin, check out the official visitors guide