British architect Norman Foster was the brain behind the ‘Berlin Brain’, a cranial-shaped 2005 masterpiece of modern architecture that houses the Freie Universität Berlin’s Philological Library. Inside are four floors sheltered within a naturally ventilated, bubble-like enclosure draped in aluminium and glazed panels. An inner membrane of translucent glass fibre filters the daylight, while scattered transparent openings allow momentary glimpses of the sky.
‘Berlin Brain’
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
6.64 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 …
6.6 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…
6.64 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…
5.53 MILES
This compelling exhibit tells stories of terror and persecution in Nazi Germany.
Gedenkstätte und Museum Sachsenhausen
21.71 MILES
About 35km north of Berlin, Sachsenhausen was built by prisoners and opened in 1936 as a prototype for other camps. By 1945, some 200,000 people had…
4.78 MILES
Charlottenburg Palace is one of Berlin's few sites that still reflect the one-time grandeur of the Hohenzollern clan, which ruled the region from 1415 to…
Nearby attractions
0.07 MILES
The Free University is one of three public universities in Berlin, with nearly 31,500 students hitting the books in numerous buildings spread across…
2. Museum Europäischer Kulturen
0.32 MILES
Everyday culture and cultural contact in Europe from the 18th century to the present is the focus of this museum, which also examines such topical themes…
3. Freilichtmuseum Domäne Dahlem
0.44 MILES
Pat a potbellied pig or clamber on a historical tractor at this open-air museum that’s actually a modern working farm attached to a rambling manor house…
0.73 MILES
The original Checkpoint Charlie guard cabin, a Berlin Airlift plane and a reconstructed spy tunnel are among the dramatic exhibits at the Allied Museum,…
5. Botanischer Garten & Museum
0.81 MILES
Berlin’s vast Freie Universität Berlin–affiliated botanical gardens boast 22,000 plant species. It's an inspirational spot to reconnect with nature…
1.16 MILES
This private art museum in the monumental studio of Nazi-era sculptor Arno Breker presents modernist works created in Germany in the years between WWII…
1.19 MILES
In 1905 Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Erich Heckel and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner founded Germany’s first modern-artist group, called Die Brücke (The Bridge)…
2.23 MILES
Germany's first actress to hit the big time in Hollywood, Marlene Dietrich was born in Schöneberg in 1901. In 1992 the 'Blue Angel' moved into her final…