Where is the Egyptian Museum of Berlin housed?

The collection is located within the Neues Museum on Museum Island in Berlin.

What is the best-known exhibit in the museum?

The Nefertiti Bust is the best-known exhibit in the collection.

Where was the Nefertiti Bust discovered?

Ludwig Borchardt discovered the bust during excavations in Amarna, and Henri James Simon later donated the piece to the museum.

How was the collection split during the division of Berlin?

Items were divided between the Bode Museum in East Berlin and quarters near Charlottenburg Palace in West Berlin before reuniting on Museum Island.

Who led the expedition that expanded the collection?

Karl Richard Lepsius led the Prussian expedition to Egypt and Nubia that brought additional artefacts to Berlin.

Berlin · Germany

Egyptian Museum of Berlin: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Residents in Mitte endure heavy museum foot traffic along the island promenade, yet living nearby lets you study the galleries during empty weekday mornings after the weekend crowds disperse.

Egyptian Museum of Berlin · CC BY-SA 4.0

Map of places

Around here40

Exchange rate€0.89per 1 $EUR — the local currencyas of Nov 2, 2026

About the place

The Egyptian Museum of Berlin holds royal Prussian antiquities inside the Neues Museum on Museum Island.

The institution originated from royal art holdings assembled by the Hohenzollern rulers of Prussia. King Friedrich Wilhelm established the dedicated Egyptian section following advice from Alexander von Humboldt. The inventory expanded through the private collection of Giuseppe Passalacqua and expeditions to Egypt and Nubia. Architect Friedrich August Stüler designed its permanent halls within the Neues Museum.

Read on

Strategic bombing heavily damaged the gallery building during wartime, splitting the holdings across a divided city. East Berlin displayed items at the Bode Museum, while evacuated masterworks such as the Nefertiti Bust went to Charlottenburg in West Berlin. German reunification permitted the dispersed treasures to reassemble. Following extensive renovations, the complete collection reopened inside its restored Museum Island quarters.

Associations

Nefertiti BustThe Amarna portrait remains the centerpiece of the ancient holdings.
Neues MuseumThe historic Stüler building provides the permanent exhibition space.
Giuseppe PassalacquaHis private antiquities formed the initial core of the public collection.
Postwar PartitionPolitical division kept key exhibits scattered across split city sectors.

Facts

Alexander von Humboldt encouraged the Prussian crown to establish a dedicated Egyptian department.
Prussian expeditions led by Karl Richard Lepsius brought ancient artifacts from Egypt and Nubia to Berlin.
Entrepreneur Henri James Simon donated the Amarna excavation find of the Nefertiti Bust to the museum.
During the Cold War, the Nefertiti Bust was displayed opposite Charlottenburg Palace in West Berlin.

Updated September 9, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Egyptian Museum of Berlin: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

What is around40

The Egyptian Museum of Berlin holds royal Prussian antiquities inside the Neues Museum on Museum Island.

Getting there and staying

Google reviews

Similar nearby