Colonnade Courtyard of the Old National Gallery UNESCO World Heritage Museum Island Berlin

The vision of Frederick William VI is finally becoming reality: the old Spree Island with its important collections is developing into a "free space for art and science". Following the restoration and completion of the magnificent buildings on the basis of the "Museum Island Master Plan", their open spaces will be completely accessible to the public for the first time. In the midst of the metropolis of Berlin, an area is being created with atmospheric places that invite visitors to linger and stroll, to dream and discover.

The first construction phase after the reopening of the Neues Museum and restoration of the colonnades is the completion of the listed colonnade courtyard around the Alte Nationalgalerie. On June 6, 2010, its area was ceremoniously opened to the public to mark the tenth anniversary of the Museum Island's inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

More than almost any other open space, the Colonnade Courtyard is shaped by architecture. Its spatial edges are formed by the Neues Museum, the Pergamon Museum and the colonnade along the Spree and opposite the cathedral; at its centre is the Alte Nationalgalerie. The finely tuned height development in the vegetation gives the area of the colonnade courtyard a spatial differentiation without placing itself in the foreground. By foregoing any additional furnishings as well as the formulation of a homogeneous garden, the colonnade courtyard creates an atmospheric environment for the outstanding architecture of the museums and a tranquil base for the bronze sculptures of the Alte Nationalgalerie.

Passers stream through the courtyard and get in the mood for their visit to the surrounding collections. On warm summer days and evenings, Berliners and tourists alike use the garden for a short trip to Spree-Athens. The Kolonnadenhof is once again a public sculpture garden in the middle of Berlin.