STATE & NATION TRAVEL · events
Berlin's Alte Nationalgalerie opens an anniversary exhibit spanning two centuries
By Staff Writer · Published October 25, 2026
The Museum Island presentation places works by Gursky, Lucas, Miró and Warhol alongside the museum's 19th-century collection through February 28.
Official event date: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin · October 22, 2026
Source: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin: October 22 press release
Berlin's Alte Nationalgalerie has opened a museum-wide anniversary presentation that puts late-20th-century art in direct conversation with its 19th-century collection. “Across Epochs” runs from October 22, 2026, through February 28, 2027, and spreads the pairings across ten rooms on all three floors.
The Staatliche Museen zu Berlin says works by Andreas Gursky, Sarah Lucas, Joan Miró and Andy Warhol are among the modern and contemporary pieces placed beside older art. The exhibition is organized around selected encounters rather than a separate chronological gallery, so it also changes how visitors move through and interpret the permanent collection.
The presentation marks the Alte Nationalgalerie's 150th anniversary. The museum opened in 1876 as the National Gallery's home for contemporary art; its holdings now serve as the starting point for a six-building Nationalgalerie network that reaches into modern and contemporary collections elsewhere in Berlin.
The official exhibition page lists a combined “Across Epochs” and Alte Nationalgalerie ticket at €16, with an €8 concession, while the broader Museum Island ticket is €24, or €12 concession. Those posted rates and operating details can change, so travelers should use the museum's live page and official ticket shop before paying.
What Travelers Need to Know
The exhibition is scheduled through February 28, 2027. The Alte Nationalgalerie is currently open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed Monday; check the official calendar for holiday exceptions before choosing a day.
The visitor entrance is on Bodestraße, 10178 Berlin. The museum lists the Museumsinsel U-Bahn stop, Friedrichstraße and Hackescher Markt S-Bahn stations, and nearby tram and bus stops. It describes the building as partially wheelchair accessible, so travelers who need step-free routing should review the museum's access information or contact visitor services before arrival.
Buy only through the linked official shop and confirm which ticket fits the itinerary. The museum currently lists the exhibition-plus-museum ticket at €16 and the Museum Island ticket at €24, with concessions available; guided tours are separate dated offerings rather than automatically included.
Allow time for the presentation across all three floors rather than treating it as a single-room temporary show. Check the current exhibition page on the day of travel because individual works, public tours and building access can change during a long-running museum program.
About the Location
The Alte Nationalgalerie stands on Berlin's Museum Island, in the historic center and within a bend of the River Spree. Its temple-like building was designed by Friedrich August Stüler, completed by Johann Heinrich Strack and constructed from 1867 to 1876 after banker and consul Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener left his art collection to Prussia for public display.
Museum Island grew from early-19th-century plans to make art and learning publicly accessible. UNESCO added the ensemble to the World Heritage List in 1999, citing the way its museum buildings record more than a century of museum design. The anniversary exhibition matters in that setting because it uses the Alte Nationalgalerie's original purpose as a home for contemporary art to recast a collection now associated with the long 19th century.