Museum for prehistory and early history

The Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Museum for Prehistory and Early History) is one of Germany's major archaeological museums and among the largest supra-regional collections of prehistoric finds in Europe. Part of the Berlin State Museums (Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), it is currently housed in the Neues Museum on Museum Island in Berlin-Mitte. The museum traces its origins to the Hohenzollern dynasty's cabinet of curiosities and has undergone numerous relocations throughout its history, most recently moving from Schloss Charlottenburg to its present site in October 2009. Its holdings span from the Paleolithic period through the Middle Ages, with particularly strong representation of European prehistory.

The collection began in 1830 when the Hohenzollern assembled ancient finds at Schloss Monbijou under the name "Museum Vaterländischer Altertümer" (Museum of National Antiquities). It subsequently moved to the Neues Museum, then in 1886 to the Ethnographic Museum on Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, and in 1921 to the Martin-Gropius-Bau, where it was renamed "Staatliches Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte" in 1931. Notable early supporters included Rudolf Virchow and Heinrich Schliemann. After World War II, significant portions of the collection were confiscated by the Soviet Union as war booty, including the Eberswalde Gold Treasure, the Gutenstein sword scabbard, and the Cottbus gold find. The museum relocated to Schloss Charlottenburg in West Berlin in 1960, with exhibitions beginning as early as September 1958. Following German reunification, the East Berlin "Museum für Ur- und Frühgeschichte" collection was incorporated. The Charlottenburg location closed on 26 April 2009, and the collections moved to the newly restored Neues Museum on Museum Island that autumn.

The museum's collection encompasses archaeological and prehistoric materials from Europe and Asia, spanning from the Stone Age through the Middle Ages. Its geographic range extends from Western Europe, Northern Germany, and Scandinavia across Central and Eastern Europe to the Alpine and Danube regions and Northern Italy. The collection is distinguished by its comprehensive coverage of major European prehistoric cultures, including the Bandkeramik and Bell Beaker cultures of the Neolithic period. The museum also maintains a specialized library on prehistoric archaeology containing over 50,000 volumes. Additionally, it hosts the Commission for the Exploration of Archaeological Collections and Documents from Northeast Central Europe and a project for the study of ancient Egyptian calendars.

Among the museum's most significant objects is the Berlin Gold Hat (Berliner Goldhut), a Bronze Age ceremonial gold cone dating to approximately 1000-800 BCE, acquired in 1996. The museum also holds original portions of Heinrich Schliemann's Trojan collection, including silver vessels from the so-called Treasure of Priamus, though the most significant pieces remain in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow as war booty. The museum displays the complete skeleton of a broad-fronted moose (Alces latifrons) from the last Ice Age, known as the "Elch vom Hansaplatz." Other notable materials include Paleolithic finds from Combe Capelle and Le Moustier, the Sticna breastplate from the Hallstatt period, and Celtic, Germanic, and Roman artifacts. Copies of the Eberswalde Gold Treasure are displayed, as the originals remain in Moscow. The Schliemann-Saal houses finds and copies from Schliemann's Trojan collection, while the Goldsaal presents valuable Bronze Age precious metal finds.

From 1960 until 27 April 2009, the museum occupied the Langhans Building, a former theatre designed by Carl Ferdinand Langhans adjacent to Schloss Charlottenburg. This West Berlin location encompassed six exhibition halls across three floors. Since October 2009, the museum's exhibitions have been displayed in the Neues Museum on Museum Island (Museumsinsel) in Berlin-Mitte. The Neues Museum, originally constructed in the mid-19th century, was severely damaged in World War II and underwent extensive restoration before reopening to house the prehistoric collections. The former Charlottenburg workshops initially remained at the old site.

The Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte is located in the Neues Museum on Museum Island in Berlin-Mitte, Germany. It operates as part of the Berlin State Museums under the ownership of the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. The museum can be visited as a circuit tour through designated exhibition halls, including the Rudolf-Virchow-Studio (Saal 1), which is didactically oriented toward school classes with a separate entrance, PC stations, and a lecture room focusing on the technological history of the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages. The museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions in addition to its permanent display. Since 2015, the museum has participated in "Multaka: Treffpunkt Museum," a program offering guided tours in Arabic and Persian for refugees and other visitors from countries of the Middle East to facilitate exchange of cultural and historical experiences. The museum also organized the archaeology exhibition "Bewegte Zeiten. Archäologie in Deutschland" at the Martin-Gropius-Bau from 21 September 2018 to 6 January 2019.