European sculpture on the banks of the river Spree
The Bode-Museum opened in 1904 as the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum and was renamed in 1956 after the institution’s first director and spiritual founding curator, Wilhelm von Bode. Although the museum, with its grand central dome, was initially intended to display artwork from the Renaissance, it now houses a vast collection of European sculpture dating from the early Middle Ages to the late 18th century, with the early modern period a particular strength and including masterpieces from artists such as Donatello and Tilman Riemenschneider. The museum also has an important collection of Byzantine art and houses the Münzkabinett (Numismatic Collection)—one of the most significant collections of coins and medals in the world. The museum underwent extensive renovations from 1997 to 2006 to restore its historical architecture and update its galleries.
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