My Short 'Long Night of Museums'
The spirit was willing, but the feet were weak
I can’t believe that I am starting my third year in Berlin, but this was the first time I went to the Lange Nacht der Museen (Long Night of Museums).
The Long Night is an annual event in which participating museums - this year there were 75 - stay open all night. One ticket grants you admission to all of them, plus the special exhibits, performances, guided tours and talks that take place that night only - this year there were more than 750.
Obviously, no normal human can see 75 museums in a single night, even if you do stay until the 2 a.m. close. The idea is that there is something on offer for everyone.
The interactive event website let you design your own itinerary or choose from a number of pre-selected routes. (You can see the route I planned here—at least as long as the link stays active.)
If history, art, and astronomy aren’t your cup of tea, you might have been more interested in, say, the workshop on “How to Roll a Smokeable Joint” at the Berlin Cannabis Museum. Or, the exhibit on the history of sex work, “With Legs Wide Open,” at the Gay Museum.
There were also plenty of family-friendly activities and exhibits. The Museum for Photography had an open portrait studio and workshop for families. Kids were invited in to the German History Museum for a painting workshop - there were dedicated hours hosted in Arabic and another in Farsi.
And, the Brohan Museum sponsored a scavenger hunt with clues hidden throughout the museums in the Charlottenburg district - to name just a few.
The event is organized by Kultur Projekte Berlin, a nonprofit company owned by the federal state of Berlin. The first museum night was held in 1997 and it has continued every year since. This year’s theme was “Berlin Secrets,” and featured an emphasis on unearthing hidden objects, solving puzzles and riddles and exploring new ideas.
Berlin is museum heaven for a history geek like me.
In addition to the heavy hitters on Museumsinsel, there are also small museums or a verein (a volunteer organization) for almost every topic you can think of. For example, there’s Magicum - a museum dedicated to magic; the Illuseum - about optical illusions; the Gaslicht-Kultur e.V. - an organization that maintains a small outdoor museum in the Tiergarten dedicated to the city’s old gas-powered streetlights!
So, so many of them all open at the same time and all accessible for an 18-Euro ticket and with performances and guided tours … my eyes definitely wrote checks my walking shoes couldn’t cash.
I started at the Documentation Center for Displacement, Expulsion and Reconciliation near the old Anhalter Bahnhof site in Kreuzberg. The center is dedicated to education and remembrance of forced migrations and displacement of people throughout history and the present day.
Its permanent exhibition on the second floor exhaustively details the massive forced migrations that occurred in Europe during and after World War II. On the first floor, there is an exhibit about present-day forced migrations that challenges visitors’ assumptions about immigration in Germany and western Europe.
I learned a lot there that I didn’t know, and this will probably be the topic of a future article.
A guided tour there focused on the different languages spoken in Berlin and how groups of immigrants have changed the language of the city over time. It was a great example of the kind of perspective and level of detail you have access to during an event rather than just visiting the center on your own.
After that and grabbing a quick dinner, I walked over to the Gropius Bau for an English-language tour discussing the museum’s architecture and its evolution from a museum for decorative arts—it was built in 1881 on the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm I—to its current function as an exhibition hall with a focus on modern art.
Then, I left to head over to the Academy of the Arts to see the presentation about the history of Parisier Platz 4, the academy’s building and to check out the roof terrace that is normally not accessible to the public.
If you look at my planned schedule, you’ll see I skipped a lot! It was already close to 11 p.m. and I was tired. I didn’t think I had a tour of the whole Neue Nationalgalerie or Altes Museum in me.
Reading through the event website again, I noticed that the FAQs recommend only trying to see a max of five museums, so that you aren’t rushed and have a good experience at each one.
I think three museums, two guided tours and a media presentation is good for my first time.
I’m definitely going to plan for this again next year—pick just five museums, in one area of the city—and pace myself!
To see more of the ‘Lange Nacht,’ check out other photos by following the Instagram tags #LNDM and #BerlinSecrets.
Other Stuff
What else is happening in my world this week.
Reading
I previously recommended Johannes’ other newsletter #understandingBerlin. I think he’s no longer updating that one. Instead, he’s writing this one and I really like his ideas.
Watching
In my ongoing quest to improve my German, I’m watching another TV series. This one is fictional. So far, no drug dealing teenagers.
Listening
If you want to go hear some live music, but don’t recognize the names listed on any of the venues (this happens to me a lot!) check out this Spotify playlist from hugomclt of tracks from the artists that will be in the city this week. See what you think. Updated weekly.
Hey! Take my new *improved* Reader Survey
I just saw the lame, generic Substack survey that was being sent with all my new subscriber ‘Welcome’ emails. Yikes.
So, I did a new one.
Tell me what you want to read about in Alte Frau-New Life and I’ll make it happen.
I like the idea of the scavenger hunt! And the exclusive access to the roof terrace is an added bonus! This sounds wonderful, what a fantastic initiative!
Don't know where to start-sounds fantastic- I believe I'd have to see the Magicum and of course, "how to roll a smokable joint"