Berlin Museum – what’s behind it?
Questions and Answers
Questions and answers about our new name, our locations and our idea
You’ve got questions – and that’s understandable. Not every museum changes its name so simply. We’ve put together the most important questions and answers for you. Take a look.
We want to make it clearer and easier to understand who we are: a museum for all of Berlin – and for everyone who feels connected to this city. With our new name, we bring our diverse museums and topics together under one shared identity. That makes it easier for you to find what interests you and recognise us at a glance.
We chose the name deliberately for its simplicity. It makes it immediately clear what we are about: Berlin, its people and its stories. At the same time, it reflects our ambition to be understood internationally and to represent the city as a whole.
Our new name puts first what has always mattered most to us: Berlin is our subject – in all its many facets.
Our new name puts first what has always mattered most to us: Berlin is our subject – in all its many facets.
You cannot tell the story of Berlin in just one place. Berlin Museum is wherever the city is – from Mitte to Marienfelde, from Düppel to Charlottenburg. We are present at several locations across the city. As decentralised and diverse as Berlin itself.
The name has a history. There was already a Berlin Museum in West Berlin, and in 1995 it became part of the foundation we belong to today. We are now bringing that name back and giving it a new meaning.
Today, Berlin Museum stands for a museum dedicated to the whole city and its stories: to what makes Berlin what it is, and to the people who live here or feel connected to it.
Unlike before, the name no longer refers to a single building. Instead, it brings together our different locations and themes under one shared idea and makes visible that they belong together.
Today, Berlin Museum stands for a museum dedicated to the whole city and its stories: to what makes Berlin what it is, and to the people who live here or feel connected to it.
Unlike before, the name no longer refers to a single building. Instead, it brings together our different locations and themes under one shared idea and makes visible that they belong together.
The foundation’s name is defined in the State Museum Foundation Act (Museumsstiftungsgesetz) and can only be changed through an amendment to the law. That would involve a considerable administrative and political process.
For this reason, the legal name remains unchanged. This makes implementation much simpler and avoids the additional challenges that a formal renaming of the foundation would bring. A future change to the foundation’s name remains possible, but it would be a long-term process.
For now, we are focusing on the public-facing brand that makes our work more visible, while the legal structure remains stable in the background.
For this reason, the legal name remains unchanged. This makes implementation much simpler and avoids the additional challenges that a formal renaming of the foundation would bring. A future change to the foundation’s name remains possible, but it would be a long-term process.
For now, we are focusing on the public-facing brand that makes our work more visible, while the legal structure remains stable in the background.
Berlin cannot be told in a single voice. Our dynamic logo reflects the typographic diversity you encounter on the city’s streets every day, from Underground signage to hand-painted convenience-store signs.
Not every typeface originates in Berlin. But each one represents a story that has a place in this city, in both the former East and West.
Not every typeface originates in Berlin. But each one represents a story that has a place in this city, in both the former East and West.
Berlin is both rough and refined. It is a city full of stories and perspectives that complement, overlap and contradict one another. Our logo reflects that richness and complexity. It invites questions and encourages a second look.
At the same time, it creates deliberate connections to Berlin’s history. Some of the typefaces recall the signage of the Deutsche Oper Underground station, while others reference the distinctive typography of Karl-Marx-Allee.
At the same time, it creates deliberate connections to Berlin’s history. Some of the typefaces recall the signage of the Deutsche Oper Underground station, while others reference the distinctive typography of Karl-Marx-Allee.