Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
than a troop of beefeaters that's cranked up at noon on Saturday. Classical concerts, many
free, take place year-round (ask for a schedule or check the website).
GALLERY
KUPFERSTICHKABINETT
030-266 424 242;
www.smb.museum/kk
;
Matthäikirchplatz; adult/concession €6/3;
10am-6pm Tue-Fri, 11am-6pm Sat & Sun;
200,
Potsdamer Platz, Potsdamer Platz)
One of the world's largest and finest collections of art on paper, this gallery shelters a bon-
anza of hand-illustrated books, illuminated manuscripts, drawings and prints produced
mostly in Europe from the 14th century onward - Dürer to Rembrandt to Schinkel, Picasso
to Giacometti to Warhol.
Among its most prized possessions are Botticelli's illustrations for Dante's
Divine Com-
edy
. Alas, these fragile works don't do well under light, which is why only a tiny fraction of
the collection is shown on a rotating basis.
CHURCH
MATTHÄUSKIRCHE
thäikirchplatz; noon-6pm Tue-Sun; 200, Potsdamer Platz, Potsdamer Platz)
Standing a bit lost and forlorn within the Kulturforum, the Stüler-designed Matthäuskirche
(1846) is a beautiful neo-Romanesque confection with alternating bands of red and ochre
brick and a light-flooded, modern sanctuary that doubles as a gallery. Climb the tower for
good views of the Kulturforum and Potsdamer Platz. A nice time to visit is for the free
20-minute organ recitals at 12.30pm Tuesday to Sunday.
German resistance fighter Dietrich Bonhoeffer was ordained a Lutheran minister here in
1931. A few years later the church was scheduled to be transplanted to Spandau to make
room for Albert Speer's Germania, but then the war - and history - took a different turn.
Alas, Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis on 9 April 1945, one day after V-E Day.
GALLERY
NEUE NATIONALGALERIE
closed for renovation;
Potzdamer Platz, Potsdamer Platz)
This fabulous collection of early-20th-century art will not be on view during renovations,
being undertaken by David Chipperfield and expected to last until 2018 or 2019. The build-
ing itself is a late masterpiece by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. All glass and steel and squat-
ting on a raised platform, it echoes a postmodern Buddhist temple.
