Haus der Kulturen der Welt , Building

Haus der Kulturen der Welt

Historic Mitte

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This highly respected cultural centre showcases contemporary non-European art, music, dance, literature, films and theatre, and also serves as a discussion forum on zeitgeist-reflecting issues. The gravity-defying parabolic roof of Hugh Stubbins’ extravagant building, designed as the American contribution to a 1957 architectural exhibition, is echoed by Henry Moore’s sculpture Butterfly in the reflecting pool.

Computerised chime concerts ring out at noon and 6pm daily from the nearby 68-bell carillon, and live concerts take place on Sunday at 3pm from May to September (also at 2pm in December).

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

  • Museum island on Spree river and Alexanderplatz TV tower in center of Berlin, Germany

    Museumsinsel

    1.39 MILES

    Walk through ancient Babylon, meet an Egyptian queen, clamber up a Greek altar or be mesmerized by Monet's ethereal landscapes. Welcome to Museumsinsel …

  • Neues Museum und Alte Nationalgalerie (right) at Museumsinsel in Berlin.

    Neues Museum

    1.4 MILES

    For over 60 years, not a soul was able to visit Berlin’s Neues Museum – in fact, it sat in ruins. But today it’s one of the city’s most celebrated…

  • The Museumsinsel in Berlin

    Pergamonmuseum

    1.37 MILES

    The Pergamonmuseum is one of Berlin’s most visited historical gems and perhaps also its most controversial. This museum offers an archaeological time-warp…

  • BERLIN, GERMANY- October 15, 2014: Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed starting on 13 August 1961. East Side Gallery is an international memorial for freedom. October 15, 2014 in Berlin

    East Side Gallery

    3.37 MILES

    The East Side Gallery is the embodiment of Berlin’s grit and guts.

  • Berlin city Germanyu 1610343451

    Fernsehturm

    1.88 MILES

    Germany's tallest structure, the TV Tower is a Berlin icon.

  • Schloss & Park Sanssouci

    Schloss & Park Sanssouci

    16.19 MILES

    This glorious park and palace ensemble is what happens when a king has good taste, plenty of cash and access to the finest architects and artists of the…

  • Schloss Sanssouci

    Schloss Sanssouci

    15.9 MILES

    Frederick the Great's famous summer palace, this rococo gem was designed by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff in 1747 and sits daintily above vine-draped…

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Nearby Historic Mitte attractions

1. Bundeskanzleramt

0.21 MILES

The Federal Chancellery, Germany’s ‘White House’, is a sparkling, modern compound designed by Axel Schultes and Charlotte Frank and consisting of two…

2. Sowjetisches Ehrenmal Tiergarten

0.36 MILES

Berlin lay in ruins when this imposing memorial was dedicated in November 1945. It is one of three in the city that honours the 80,000 Soviet soldiers who…

3. Paul-Löbe-Haus

0.42 MILES

The glass-and-concrete Paul-Löbe-Haus contains offices for the Bundestag’s parliamentary committees. It’s filled with modern art that can be viewed only…

4. Reichstag

0.45 MILES

It’s been burned, bombed, rebuilt, buttressed by the Wall, wrapped in fabric and finally turned into the modern home of the German parliament by Norman…

5. Strasse des 17 Juni

0.46 MILES

The broad boulevard bisecting Tiergarten was named Street of 17 June in honour of the victims of the bloodily quashed 1953 workers’ uprising in East…

7. Schloss Bellevue

0.51 MILES

While in office, the German president makes his or her temporary home in this snowy white neoclassical palace on the edge of the Tiergarten. Built in 1785…

8. Gedenkort Weisse Kreuze

0.54 MILES

The seven white crosses on the southern Spree bank behind the Reichstag were put there in 1971 by a group of West Germans in memory of the East Germans…