History of the Site

Learn the history of one of Berlin’s most special places and take a look behind the scenes at the Humboldt Forum. This short guide in German presents certain aspects of the building’s exhibitions, events, as well as its educational offers.

The past, present, and future all come together at the Humboldt Forum, and this can be felt at every turn. The building is a direct successor to two other historic structures—the Royal Palace and the Palace of the Republic. A brief review of the building’s history will take you on a journey through the centuries. Find out what Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt have to do with the building named after them.

This guide offers an entertaining overview of the building’s architecture and most important topics, as well as those who work here.

Also available in English.

• edited by the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
• published by Prestel, 2020
• 22 x 12 cm
• 96 pages with numerous illustrations, photos, and room plans

Modern, multifunctional, on everyone’s lips: This high-quality, German-language book portrays the Humboldt Forum’s development, construction, and visions. Bright illustrations accompany texts written by experts from the four partner institutions, which give you some insights into the building’s recent but eventful history.

The book includes the debates surrounding the building’s reconstruction, facts about its architecture, history, historical tracks from 800 years, its extensive cultural, educational and recreational offerings as well as much more.

The photographs, illustrations, room plans, and sketches make this book a perfect reminder of your visit to the Humboldt Forum. Gift it and make your friends excited about their own visits here.

Also available in English.

• hardcover with dust jacket
• edited by the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
• published by Prestel, 2020
• 32.5 x 24.5 cm
• 248 pages with numerous historical illustrations, photographs, graphics, sketches and room plans

From swamp to cultural hotspot: Four exhibition areas in the Humboldt Forum, covering over 1,500 sqm, tell the story of the site and how it is deeply embedded in Berlin's urban history.

This compact exhibition guide in German provides an overview of selected key topics while also showing and explaining the must-see exhibits. In addition to summarising 800 years of the building’s past and the city’s political history, it also includes illustrations of the building’s historical predecessors. This exhibition guide does not only take readers on a tour of the exhibition areas “History of the Site” and “Flashbacks” but also to the sculpture hall and the palace cellar.

Written by the exhibition’s curators, this entertaining read is an ideal companion before, during, or after your visit.

Also available in English.

• edited by the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
• published by Prestel, 2020
• 22 x 12.3 cm
• 184 pages with numerous historical illustrations, photos, and graphics

This premium floor lamp, designed according to historical models, is a very special home accessory. An eyecatcher in every room, this exclusive design is based on the lights that once hung in the Palace of the Republic.

Known in those days colloquially as “Erich's lamp shop”, the Palace of the Republic was built between 1973 and 1976 under Erich Honecker’s leadership. Until 1990, it was both the seat of the GDR parliament and a popular leisure and cultural centre. The generous lamp installations used to ensure that the foyer and staircase glowed brightly day and night. Many people who visited the Palace of the Republic still remember the impression that the lights made on them.

The floor lamp with 12 globes was produced in a very limited edition and is exclusively available here.

• sizes: H: 36 cm, B: 40 cm, L: 55 cm
• weight: 7 kg
• made of glass and metal

The Humboldt Forum is a place of history and research as well as a place of inclusion and to make new experiences. With 14 touch-images and text in large print, Braille, and simple language, this comprehensive book tells the story of the site from the 13th century until the present day.

What once began as a small Dominican monastery would over the centuries become one of Berlin’s most important places. Use your fingertips, eyes or ears to help you embark on a special eight-stage journey through time.

The book also comes with an audio version. Please click here for more information.

The book was produced in collaboration with members of the Arbeitskreises Kultur und Freizeit im Allgemeinen Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverein Berlin gegr. 1874 e. V., a cultural working group for the blind and visually impaired.

• edited by the Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss, 2020
• 26.2 x 44.2 cm
• 64 pages
• texts in large print, Braille and simple language
• 14 illustrations, 6 deep-draw films, and touch-print
• touch-map
• ring binded

The city’s history on 135 pages: Sebastian Strombach, architect and comic illustrator, uses a building as an example to tell the story of how Berlin grew from what used to be marshland into the city it is today. With comic sequences and large-format cityscape panoramas covering the time between the Ice Age and the present day, he brings the Berlin Palace, its architecture, symbolism as well as its political significance throughout the centuries to the fore.

Readers learn the eventful past of the building, its inhabitants, and the entire city in a witty, thoughtful, and creative way by taking a stroll through history with the author. On the way, by mixing well-known with lesser-known facts, read about each era’s overarching historical events.

The lovingly made and highly detailed black and white drawings are an unusual approach to discovering the site’s turbulent history.

• author and illustrator: Sebastian Strombach
• published by Urbanophil, 2020
• 28.7 x 21.5 cm
• 135 pages with black and white comic drawings
• only available in German

The Humboldt Forum’s predecessor: This blue unisex t-shirt features a multicoloured graphic representation of the Palace of the Republic. Take a piece of architectural history home with you and enjoy its trendy design.

Once the seat of the GDR parliament, it was also a popular venue for cultural events, famous far beyond Berlin’s city limits. After the Berlin Palace was demolished in 1950, it was replaced with the Palace of the Republic. Built between 1973 and 1976, many people still have fond memories today of this architecturally interesting building with its diverse tourism and leisure facilities.

This exclusively designed classic souvenir is made of organic cotton, is vegan and fair-traded.

• 100% organic cotton
• multicolour print
• certificates: G.O.T.S. certified, Fair Wear Foundation, PETA Approved Vegan, STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®

3.000 Figurative Sculptures ans Reliefs
22.000 Sandstone Blocks
750 Metres of Restored Façades
3,5 Million Bricks

Encounter the architecture and sculptural work of Andreas Schlüter’s masterful façades and those of his successor Eosander von Göthe in breath-taking new photographs by Leo Seidel: the restored Berlin Palace in the centre of the capital is both a monument to the Baroque building and a vibrant new city complex for culture. With the palace, the urban reference point for the historic centre of the city between the boulevard Unter den Linden and the Spree Island has returned. The magnificent photographs and multifaceted texts by authors who, as participants in this major project, look behind the scenes, tell of the diversity and significance of the Baroque sandstone façades, their technical and handcrafted reconstruction, and the architectural conception of the building.

• Published by Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
• Contributions by Hans-Dieter Hegner, Kathrin Lange, Bernd Wolfgang Lindemann, Franco Stella, Peter Stephan, Bernhard Wolter
• Photographs by Leo Seidel
• Hirmer Verlag
• 24 x 30 cm, hardcover
• 160 pages, 226 colour illustrations
• ISBN: 978-3-7774-3762-0

A practical eyecatcher with retro charm: This lightweight, break-proof enamel cup with a black rim depicts the Palace of the Republic’s iconic façade.

The seat of the former GDR parliament was also a popular venue for cultural events, famous far beyond Berlin’s city limits. After the Berlin Palace was demolished in 1950, it was replaced with the Palace of the Republic. Built between 1973 and 1976, many people still have fond memories today of this architecturally interesting building with its diverse tourism and leisure facilities.

As each enamel mug is unique, it may have some very minor faults or bumps which give each cup its own charm. It can be used indoors and outdoors for hot and cold drinks.

• H: 8 cm, Ø: 9 cm
• made of enamel
• holds about 300 ml
• light, break-proof

This premium table lamp, designed according to historical models, is a very special home accessory. An eyecatcher in every room, this exclusive design is based on the lights that once hung in the Palace of the Republic.

Known in those days colloquially as “Erich's lamp shop”, the Palace of the Republic was built between 1973 and 1976 under Erich Honecker’s leadership. Until 1990, it was both the seat of the GDR parliament and a popular leisure and cultural centre. The generous lamp installations used to ensure that the foyer and staircase glowed brightly day and night. Many people who visited the Palace of the Republic still remember the impression that the lights made on them.

The table lamp with 12 globes was produced in a very limited edition and is exclusively available here.

• sizes: H: 36 cm, B: 40 cm, L: 55 cm
• weight: 7 kg
• made of glass and metal

Give your notes, thoughts, sketches and anything you like room to develop in this trendy notebook, which depicts a multi-colored, graphic representation of the Palace of the Republic. It is, therefore, not only a souvenir from the city of Berlin, but also a reminder of the site’s eventful history where the Humboldt Forum stands today.

The seat of the former GDR parliament was also a popular venue for cultural events, famous far beyond the borders of Berlin. After the Berlin Palace was demolished in 1950, it was replaced with the Palace of the Republic. Built between 1973 and 1976, many people still have fond memories today of this architecturally interesting building with its diverse tourism and leisure facilities.

This hardcover book contains 80 pure white pages (40 double pages) and is held closed by a white elastic band.

• A5 format with rounded corners
• portrait format (opens upwards)

This glass Christmas bauble with a bicoloured print is a special souvenir as well as an original gift for yourself and your loved ones.   

Gold-coloured details on a red background create a diamond pattern which is complemented by rosettes with flower-shaped acanthus leaves. The Humboldt Forum’s reconstructed baroque façade is adorned with countless such rosettes, one of the most popular objects donated for the building’s reconstruction. Like many other decorative elements, they were made at the Spandau Schlossbauhütte.

Combine the Christmas bauble with the matching wind light or mix the different colours together.

• Ø: 8 cm
• made of glass
• packed individually
• packed in kraft paper with a window

This glass Christmas bauble with a bicoloured print is a special souvenir as well as an original gift for yourself and your loved ones.   

Gold-coloured details on a blue background create a diamond pattern which is complemented by rosettes with flower-shaped acanthus leaves. The Humboldt Forum’s reconstructed baroque façade is adorned with countless such rosettes, one of the most popular objects donated for the building’s reconstruction. Like many other decorative elements, they were made at the Spandau Schlossbauhütte.

Combine the Christmas bauble with the matching wind light or mix the different colours together.

• Ø: 8 cm
• made of glass
• packed individually
• packed in kraft paper with a window

A Berlin original: Mampe, the manufacturer of spirits, has bottled its “Berlin Dry Gin” in an elegant, exclusive glass bottle especially for the Humboldt Forum and adorned it with a seal. With its blend of mild, spicy, and fresh flavours—combined with juniper and a spicy citrus note—this gin can be enjoyed on the rocks or in a cocktail.

Mampe is Berlin’s oldest brand of spirits. It produces various premium quality liqueurs and schnapps on the site of a former brewery in the heart of Kreuzberg's Bergmannkiez neighbourhood. For its ingredients and production, the cult brand relies on the highest quality and local craftsmanship.

The glass bottle’s white diamond-shaped label, inspired by the Humboldt Forum’s logo, makes this gin a unique gift for yourself and your loved ones.

• 0.5 l
• 40% vol
• delivered in a black box with black-and-white labelling

This glass Christmas bauble with a bicoloured print is a special souvenir as well as an original gift for yourself and your loved ones.   

Matt gold details on a shiny background create a diamond pattern which is complemented by rosettes with flower-shaped acanthus leaves. The Humboldt Forum’s reconstructed baroque façade is adorned with countless such rosettes, one of the most popular objects donated for the building’s reconstruction. Like many other decorative elements, they were made at the Spandau Schlossbauhütte.

Combine the Christmas bauble with the matching wind light or mix the different colours together.

• Ø: 8 cm
• made of glass
• packed individually
• packed in kraft paper with a window

This elegant glass wind light with bicoloured print and mirrored inner surface will fill your room with atmosphere. Its bulbous shape emanates a subtle, shimmering light.

Matt gold details on a shiny background create a diamond pattern which is complemented by rosettes with flower-shaped acanthus leaves. The Humboldt Forum’s reconstructed baroque façade is adorned with countless such rosettes, one of the most popular objects donated for the building’s reconstruction. Like many other decorative elements, they were made at the Spandau Schlossbauhütte.

An eye-catcher even when unlit, the wind light can be used in indoor and outdoor areas.

• H: 10.5 cm, Ø: 7.5 cm
• made of glass
• packed individually
• packed in kraft paper with a window

This unisex dark blue T-shirt features a high-quality gold print of the Berlin Palace’s historic façade on the chest.

The Royal Palace in the heart of Berlin was severely damaged during World War II and, ordered by the GDR government, later demolished. Helped by countless donations, the Förderverein Berliner Schloss e.V. spent many years enabling both the planning and an exact reconstruction of the historic palace’s façades.

The exclusively designed classic souvenir is made of organic cotton, is vegan and fair-traded.

• 100% organic cotton
• certificates: G.O.T.S. certified, Fair Wear Foundation, PETA Approved Vegan, STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®

Glass flower, the Palace Theatre or the countless lamps: There was always plenty to discover in “Erich's Lamp Shop”, as the Palace of the Republic was called colloquially.

This mulit-coloured, self-adhesive paper tape with motives from this cultural centre will make every gift even more special. Easy to tear, it is also perfectly suitable for labelling, arts and crafts and decorating, for example, picture frames, lampshades or furniture.

The Palace of the Republic was famous far beyond Berlin’s city limits. After the Berlin Palace was demolished in 1950, it was replaced with the Palace of the Republic. Built between 1973 and 1976, many people still have fond memories today of this architecturally interesting building with its diverse tourism and leisure facilities. The Salapanga creative agency in Berlin took inspiration for this exclusive design from the graphic icons in and on the Palace of the Republic.

• 4.5 cm  x 50 m
• self adhesive paper tape
• leaves no residue on most surfaces
• not suitable for children under the age of 3
• Made in Germany

3.000 Figurative Sculptures ans Reliefs
22.000 Sandstone Blocks
750 Metres of Restored Façades
3,5 Million Bricks

Encounter the architecture and sculptural work of Andreas Schlüter’s masterful façades and those of his successor Eosander von Göthe in breath-taking new photographs by Leo Seidel: the restored Berlin Palace in the centre of the capital is both a monument to the Baroque building and a vibrant new city complex for culture. With the palace, the urban reference point for the historic centre of the city between the boulevard Unter den Linden and the Spree Island has returned. The magnificent photographs and multifaceted texts by authors who, as participants in this major project, look behind the scenes, tell of the diversity and significance of the Baroque sandstone façades, their technical and handcrafted reconstruction, and the architectural conception of the building.

• Published by Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss
• Contributions by Hans-Dieter Hegner, Kathrin Lange, Bernd Wolfgang Lindemann, Franco Stella, Peter Stephan, Bernhard Wolter
  
• Photographs by Leo Seidel
• Hirmer Verlag
  
• 24 x 30 cm, hardcover
• 160 pages, 226 colour illustrations
• ISBN 978-3-7774-3217-5

This premium pendant lamp, designed according to historical models, is a very special home accessory. An eyecatcher in every room, this exclusive design is based on the lights that once hung in the Palace of the Republic.

Known in those days colloquially as “Erich's lamp shop”, the Palace of the Republic was built between 1973 and 1976 under Erich Honecker’s leadership. Until 1990, it was both the seat of the GDR parliament and a popular leisure and cultural centre. The generous lamp installations used to ensure that the foyer and staircase glowed brightly day and night. Many people who visited the Palace of the Republic still remember the impression that the lights made on them.

The pendant lamp with 12 globes was produced in a very limited edition and is exclusively available here.

• sizes: H: 34 cm, B: 32 cm, L: 52 cm
• weight: 5,9 kg
• made of glass and metal

Give your thoughts free rein in this elegant notebook. The white print on a black background depicts the Humboldt Forum’s outer façade. This makes it an exclusive souvenir or a perfect gift for those still planning their own visit.

The Humboldt Forum in the heart of Berlin stands on historical ground, combining the past with the present. It fuses different architectural styles and seizes on the site’s turbulent history throughout the centuries with its exhibitions. It invites everyone to take part in cultural, educational and recreational activities.

The hardcover notebook contains 80 pure white pages (40 double pages) and a ribbon bookmark. A black elastic band holds it closed.

• A5 format with rounded corners

Your ideas, plans, sketches and much more will have plenty of room to unfold in this handy notebook. With its diamond pattern, typical of the Humboldt Forum’s logo, this book is a beautiful souvenir for yourself and others. Its many bright colours create the illusion that the diamond pattern is spinning into infinity. This impressive effect not only hints at an interesting place with plenty to discover, but it is also fun to look at.

Make your desk a little more colourful by adding the three other notebook designs in different bright colours.

The hardcover notebook contains 80 pure white pages (40 double pages) and a ribbon bookmark. A blue elastic band holds it closed.

• A5 format with rounded corners

This elegant glass wind light with bicoloured print and mirrored inner surface will fill your room with atmosphere. Its bulbous shape emanates a subtle, shimmering light.

Gold-coloured details on a red background create a diamond pattern which is complemented by rosettes with flower-shaped acanthus leaves. The Humboldt Forum’s reconstructed baroque façade is adorned with countless such rosettes, one of the most popular objects donated for the building’s reconstruction. Like many other decorative elements, they were made at the Spandau Schlossbauhütte.

An eye-catcher even when unlit, the wind light can be used in indoor and outdoor areas.

• H: 10.5 cm, Ø: 7.5 cm
• made of glass
• packed individually
• packed in kraft paper with a window

This glass Christmas bauble with a bicoloured print is a special souvenir as well as an original gift for yourself and your loved ones.

Gold-coloured details on a green background create a diamond pattern which is complemented by rosettes with flower-shaped acanthus leaves. The Humboldt Forum’s reconstructed baroque façade is adorned with countless such rosettes, one of the most popular objects donated for the building’s reconstruction. Like many other decorative elements, they were made at the Spandau Schlossbauhütte.

Combine the Christmas bauble with the matching wind light or mix the different colours together.

• Ø: 8 cm
• made of glass
• packed individually
• packed in kraft paper with a window