Hamburger Bahnhof

Hamburger Bahnhof, Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart is a museum of contemporary art in Berlin, Germany, housed in a former railway terminus on Invalidenstrasse in the Moabit district, opposite the Charité hospital. Part of the Berlin National Gallery and administered by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, it opened in November 1996 as the Museum für Gegenwart after extensive renovation of the historic station building. The museum recorded approximately 357,000 visits in 2024 and serves as one of Germany's principal venues for modern and contemporary art.

The station was built in 1846-47 to Friedrich Neuhaus's plans as the terminus of the Berlin, Hamburg Railway. Passenger service ended in 1884 when northbound long-distance trains shifted to the nearby Lehrter Bahnhof. The building then served as offices and apartments until 1906, when it became the Royal Museum of Building and Transport, later incorporated into Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920. Allied bombing in 1944 severely damaged the structure, and the museum closed. After 1945, the East German Reichsbahn retained control despite the building's location in West Berlin, showing no interest in reopening the museum. In 1984, the Reichsbahn transferred both building and collection to Western authorities. In the mid-1980s, Berlin entrepreneur Erich Marx offered his private contemporary art collection to the city. The Berlin Senate decided in 1987 to establish a museum of contemporary art in the former station, with the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation agreeing to operate it as part of the National Gallery. Architect Josef Paul Kleihues won the 1989 competition for the building's renovation. Between 1990 and 1996, Kleihues refurbished the structure, adding an 80-meter wing beside the old platform hall. The museum opened in November 1996 with an exhibition of works by Sigmar Polke. In 2004, the former Güterbahnhof (freight depot) connected to the main building was rebuilt as the Rieckhallen exhibition space for the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection. Flick initially lent 1,500 works for seven years, later extending the loan to 2021, and invested 8 million euros in renovating the Rieckhallen through architects Kuehn Malvezzi. In 2008 and 2014, Flick donated 268 works to the museum. However, in 2020, Austrian property company CA Immo announced plans to demolish the Rieckhallen after the rental contract expired in September 2021. This prompted Flick to end his loan. The federal government subsequently purchased the Hamburger Bahnhof for €66 million, and the state of Berlin acquired the Rieckhallen for approximately €100 million via funds and a land swap, with the deal completed by November 2022. Directors have included Eugen Blume (2001-2016), Gabriele Knapstein (2016-2021), and since 2022 Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath.

The Hamburger Bahnhof's collection begins where that of the Neue Nationalgalerie ends, starting from the 1960s. It comprises works from the Nationalgalerie proper, the Marx Collection, the Marzona Collection, the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection, and further acquisitions. The museum emphasizes art on video and film, including a collection of 1970s video art gifted by Mike Steiner and the Joseph Beuys media archives.

The Marx Collection, on permanent loan since 1996, forms the core holdings with approximately 150 paintings and around 500 drawings by Joseph Beuys and Andy Warhol. In 2002, the museum acquired the Marzona Collection of conceptual art and Arte Povera. The Flick Collection, focused on late 20th-century art, contained large-format works by Paul McCarthy, Jason Rhoades, Rodney Graham, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, and Stan Douglas, including elaborate installations and complex filmic spaces. Flick's 2008 and 2014 donations of 268 works, including pieces by Isa Genzken, Martin Kippenberger, Katharina Fritsch, and Raymond Pettibon, were described by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation as unique in the postwar period.

Since 2023, the "Unendliche Ausstellung" (Infinite Exhibition) presents more than 20 permanent installations, sculptures, and interventions from the collection distributed throughout all building sections and outdoor areas, accessible via a circular route. Since 2005, the "Stiftung für zeitgenössische Kunst" (Foundation for Contemporary Art), established by the Friends of the Nationalgalerie, has acquired works by Nevin Aladağ, Andrea Fraser, Alfredo Jaar, John Knight, Susan Philipsz, and Heimo Zobernig.

Permanent loans from the Marx Collection include works by Joseph Beuys, Anselm Kiefer, Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol. Specific notable works have included Warhol's Do It Yourself (Seascape) and Ten-foot flowers, though these were returned to the Marx heirs in spring 2022 along with Cy Twombly's Empire of Flowers, a move criticized in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The collection also holds works by Richard Long, Donald Judd, Rebecca Horn, Marcel Broodthaers, Jutta Koether, Candice Breitz, Harun Farocki, and Pipilotti Rist.

Since the museum's 1996 opening, Dan Flavin's Untitled (1996) has illuminated the building's windows and stone façade in neon green and yellow lights. The Unendliche Ausstellung includes Lothar Baumgarten's word garlands Feuilleton Klimax and Elmgreen and Dragset's ATM installed in a segment of the Berlin Wall. Roy Lichtenstein is also represented in the collection.

The Hamburger Bahnhof is the only surviving terminus building in Berlin from the late neoclassical period and one of Germany's oldest station buildings. Designed by Friedrich Neuhaus and Ferdinand Wilhelm Holz in the late classical style, it was constructed in 1846-47. The original train shed was removed in the 1880s; the present train shed was built later for exhibition purposes. Between 1909 and 1916, east and west wings were added as extensions. The building suffered severe damage from Allied bombing in 1944. Josef Paul Kleihues's 1990-1996 renovation transformed the 10,000 square meter (108,000 sq ft) structure into a museum while preserving its historic character. The Rieckhallen, the former freight depot of the German Imperial Railway connected to the main building, was rebuilt in 2004 as additional exhibition space. The building complex sits on Invalidenstrasse in Moabit, with the Berlin-Spandau navigable canal running along its eastern side.

The Hamburger Bahnhof, Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart is located on Invalidenstrasse in Berlin's Moabit district, opposite the Charité hospital and near Berlin Hauptbahnhof. It is part of the Berlin State Museums and operated by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. The museum opened to the public in November 1996 and continues to present both permanent collection displays and temporary exhibitions of current contemporary artists. Since 2023, visitors can experience the Unendliche Ausstellung, a permanent installation route through all building sections and outdoor areas. The museum's official website is http://www.smb.museum/museen-und-einrichtungen/hamburger-bahnhof/home.html.