With the inauguration of the Altes Museum, completed in 1830 following designs by K.F. Schinkel, the Graeco-Roman collection was opened to the public for the first time. The art ensembles became world famous as a result of a series of archaeological expeditions in Olympia, Pergamon, Milet, Priene, Samos and Didyma. The researchers brought home with them parts of monumental buildings including the Pergamon Altar and the Market Gate of Miletus, which were later reconstructed in new Pergamon Museum opened in 1930. Germany’s post-war division also resulted in the division of the Graeco-Roman collection. In the city’s eastern part, the Pergamon Museum re-opened in the 1950s. In the western part of the city, lesser art treasures, stored for safekeeping in the country’s western part, were exhibited from 1960 in the Stüler building, overlooking Charlottenburg Palace. Several displays of vases, bronzes and further small objects in the Altes Museum now mark the reunification of the long-divided collection.

With some 850,000 annual visitors, the Pergamon Museum belongs to the popular state museum buildings. The site’s principal attraction is the Pergamon Altar, dating from the 2nd century BC. The altar’s frieze depicts the battle between the Gods and Giants, a well-known masterpiece of Hellenistic art. The room to the south houses the Market Gate of Miletus, an example of Roman architecture. Pieces of Greek architecture can be found in the hall dedicated to Hellenistic architecture, adjoining the hall to the north. The museum’s northern wing contains classical sculptures, spanning from the Archaic age to the Hellenistic period, as well as ancient copies of Greek originals and Roman art.

Greek and Roman art and sculptures in the Altes Museum feature Etruscan art, and an exhibition of Greek works in the newly designed main floor. The latter, representing a thematically arranged exhibition, features stone sculptures, friezes, clay and bronze figures, vases, gold jewelry and silverware. The on-site information displays provide details on supplementary topics, such as Greek myths, ancient city culture and archaeological sites investigated by the Berlin museums. Roman art is showcased by relatively few pieces, including portraits of Caesar and Cleopatra, mosaics, sarcophagi, frescos and Roman-Egyptian mummy portraits. Plaster models of antique art are the focus of the Replica Collection in Berlin-Charlottenburg, while in the Gipsformerei (Replica Workshop) some of the replicas are available for purchase.