Art in Berlin – Part 1

The art and architecture making up Berlin’s diverse art scene

With it’s long history and rich culture, Berlin is one of the best places for both historical and contemporary art. One of the best things about this city is the information offered to visitors when out and about, showing not only an acknowledgement of local history, but a move towards educating citizens about it freely. With the added bonus of being an affordable holiday destination with cheap public transport (compared to the UK) art and architecture in Berlin cannot only be seen in the cities big institutions but most of the time as a public place of interest that is typically free to view on the side of the road or down the quieter streets of the city. From my most recent visit, here are some of the must-see locations showcasing Berlin as a hub for art.

Berlin Art Market (Berliner Kunst Markt)

€: FREE TO VIEW. Held every Saturday and Sunday, you can find the Berlin Art Market on the bridge next to Museum Island. Filled with local artists and small businesses, this is the best place for prints, jewellery, accessories, and original pieces. Not only is it a place where artists and art lovers come together, but it gives you the opportunity to speak directly with the artists about their work and sometimes offers the chance to watch the artists at work.

East Side Gallery

€: FREE TO VIEW. Located in Friedrichshain, the East Side Gallery showcases replicas of original murals painted onto the remains of the wall in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall a year prior. In this free to see gallery of art, you can walk alongside the wall and view pieces from over 100 artists from different countries. What makes this site a great location to see art, is not only the artistic variety of the murals, but the unofficial additions in unpainted parts of the wall where visitors and local residents have added their own messages to the memorial.

Karl-Marx-Allee

€: FREE TO VIEW. Something a little different from the popular art locations, if you want to leave the crowds and immerse yourself into what was East Berlin then Karl-Marx-Allee is the place to go. Built by the GDR, the buildings on this street reflect both the uniform rectangular, pale-tiled, residential blocks of East Berlin, and the slightly more extravagant (in comparison) Stalinist-style buildings.

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

€: FREE TO VIEW. Mirroring a similar history and regularly compared to the local Coventry Cathedral, the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche surrounds the ruins of the previous Victorian church. The new modern church built in the early 1960s, shows a concrete church that differs greatly to the previous church. From the extravagant gothic ornaments to the solid hexagonal structure, this site directly compares the old to the new while also paying attention to the historical similarities between this church and Coventry Cathedral. With windows that emulate those of Coventry Cathedral, the fractured blue panes of glass installed within the frames now referred to as “the blue light”, offer a much more immersive atmosphere for those that visit.

Although not as popular as the previous locations, this one was a favourite for me. The immediate contrast between the bombed ruins of the original church confronted by the advanced styles and technology of the mid-20th century offer an image of resilience and acknowledgement/education of local history.