The Neue Nationalgalerie, "New National Gallery"
1962 Mies van der Rohe was commissioned by the city of Berlin to create and build a gallery of the 20th century to accommodate 19th century pieces of art from the collection of the 1861 built National Gallery with pieces of the 20th century. He was not restricted by specific guidelines and September 15th 1968 , after 3 years of construction, The New National Gallery was inaugurated as the first museum at the Kulturforum.
After the German reunification in 1989 The New National Gallery had accumulated so many pieces of art that rearrangement became necessary. Today The New National Gallery accommodates 20th century European painting and sculpture ranging from classical modern art to art of the 1960s. 4000 square meter of exhibition space and 800 meter of wall space offer spaciousness which is not assumed by the spectator from the outside of the building. The spacious glass hall at the top floor and parts of the lower floor are used for special exhibitions, which attract many visitors yearly. An unforgettable highlight was the special exhibition "MoMA in Berlin" in 2004 showing a loan collection of 200 pieces of art of the New York "Museum of Modern Art" , which attracted 1,2 million visitors from all around the world.
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