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Inside »Berlin Global«: »an arena for a democratic culture of debate«
Photo: RONNY HARTMANN / AFP
After several delays and significantly more expensive than planned, the Berlin Humboldt Forum opened on Tuesday afternoon.
The center for culture, art and science, built for 680 million euros by the Italian architect Franco Stella behind the reconstructed palace facade, is currently one of the most ambitious and controversial cultural projects internationally.
State Minister for Culture Monika Grütters (CDU) spoke at an opening ceremony.
"Coming to terms with German colonial history will soon play a central role here," she announced.
The Humboldt Forum could become "an arena for the democratic culture of debate" and "as a role model in dealing with cultural goods from colonial contexts, it could become a driving force for necessary changes."
From the afternoon onwards, the public can explore the inside of the building after booking a time slot ticket.
After the opening, which was initially postponed several times due to construction and then due to corona, and a digital prelude in December, the doors of the forum will be unlocked in three stages.
First of all, six exhibitions await visitors in the historic cellar, on the ground floor and on the first of three floors.
There are:
The special exhibition “terribly beautiful.
Elephant - human - ivory «
»According to nature« in the area of the Humboldt University
The "Berlin Global" exhibition by the city museum and cultural projects
"Take a seat!" As an exhibition for children
The "history of the place" on the changing history at this point in the city
“Insights.
The Humboldt Brothers «on the work of the namesake Alexander (1769-1859) and Wilhelm (1767-1835) von Humboldt
The visit is free for the first 100 days.
The approximately 40,000 square meter building in the heart of Berlin is shared by two museums of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the State of Berlin, the Humboldt University and the Humboldt Forum Foundation.
Exhibits from Asia, Africa, America and Oceania as well as objects on the history of Berlin are shown.
In addition to the building itself, the presentation of Benin bronzes, which is planned for next year, is also controversial.
Museums from Germany and Nigeria as well as the political level are currently negotiating returns from the coming year.
In the run-up to the opening, there were also headlines about the working conditions in the city palace: employees complained about harassment and spoke of a »House of Fear«.
feb / dpa / AFP