Jewish Museum Berlin: Libeskind's architecture and the exhibition

Updated on October 1, 2026

The Jewish Museum Berlin (Jüdisches Museum Berlin), on Lindenstraße in Kreuzberg, traces the history of Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day. You enter through the old Kollegienhaus, a Baroque building, before heading underground into Daniel Libeskind's zigzag extension clad in titanium-zinc, opened in autumn 2001 and now one of the city's most famous buildings. The core exhibition is free for everyone; only the temporary exhibitions in the Old Building charge admission. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 6pm; allow three hours for the architecture and the exhibition.

Highlights

The Libeskind Building

The "Between the Lines" design, winner of the 1989 competition, reveals itself from outside through its slashed windows and from inside through its "voids", five unheated, almost unlit concrete shafts that cut through the building and embody the absence left by the Holocaust.

The three axes

In the basement, three sloping corridors intersect: the Axis of Exile leads to the Garden of Exile, the Axis of the Holocaust to the Holocaust Tower, a bare concrete tower lit by a single slit, and the Axis of Continuity to the staircase that climbs to the exhibition.

The Garden of Exile

Forty-nine concrete columns arranged in a seven-by-seven square stand on sloping ground that throws visitors off balance. Forty-eight are filled with Berlin soil, the central one with soil from Jerusalem, and Russian olive trees grow on top of them.

Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves)

In the Memory Void on the ground floor, Menashe Kadishman's installation covers the floor with more than 10,000 faces cut from iron, mouths open, dedicated to the victims of war and violence.

The core exhibition

Opened on 23 August 2020 over 3,500 m², it tells the story of Jewish life in Germany from the Middle Ages to today, with objects, documents, installations and testimonies. Until 22 November 2026, the temporary exhibition "Between the Lines" is devoted to Daniel Libeskind and the museum.

Infos pratiques

Tips

The core exhibition is free; temporary exhibitions in the Old Building cost €10, €4 reduced, free for under-18s (prices checked in October 2026). Book a free time slot online before you come: it is not compulsory, but it saves waiting at busy times. There is a security check at the entrance, and only carry-on bags fit in the lockers: leave large suitcases at your hotel. With children, ANOHA, the children's museum across the street, can be visited with a booking. The museum is closed on Saturday 14 November 2026 and on 24 December. Round off the day in the [Kreuzberg district](/fr/articles/kreuzberg-berlin) or at [Checkpoint Charlie](/fr/attractions/checkpoint-charlie), about ten minutes' walk away.

How to get there

Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin. U-Bahn U1, U3 and U6, Hallesches Tor station, or U6, Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie station, about 10 minutes' walk away. Bus 248, Jüdisches Museum stop; bus M29, Lindenstraße/Oranienstraße stop; bus M41, Zossener Brücke stop.