Much has been made of the fact that Germany is rebuilding a palace which once belonged to an aristocratic dynasty that went out with the end of WWI. Backward looking, was the judgement of the detractors of the project while those who were in favor didn't exactly brim with enthusiasm, either. All that's changed now that the fabulous Neil Macgregor, director of the British Museum and generally regarded as one of the world's most formidable authorities on art as well as on history, has been appointed as the Humboldt's Forum founding director.
Seldom, if ever, has a (cultural) decision in Berlin been greeted by such an overwhelmingly positive response by the public and the media. Critics and supporters of the project alike are unanimous in their endorsement of Macgregor. Starting this October, he will spearhead a committee that decides over the future shape and form of the Humboldt Forum, after all one of Europe's most ambitious cultural undertakings.
Neil Macgregor
The Humboldt Forum will include Berlin's ethnological and Asian collections, currently on show in the Dahlem Museums, but it will also offer room for dialogue and debate as well as the history of Berlin which, being a city of immigrants (Prussians, Huguenots, Jews, Russians, Sorbs, Turks, etc.), blends in with the overall theme of the Humboldt Forum which, in a nutshell, is 'telling the history of the world'. According to Macgregor, 'this can only be done in 5 cities worldwide - London, New York, St. Petersburg, Paris, and Berlin'.
The appointment of Macgregor comes just weeks after the director of the Tate Modern, Chris Deacon, was appointed to succeed Frank Castorf at Berlin's legendary Volksbühne.
Although the construction site of Berlin's Palace is massive (see the images below), it is one of just a handful which is actually on schedule. The Palace is slated to open in 2019. The majority of the cost (800m) is covered by private donations. One single private donor who didn't want his name disclosed shelled out the money for the dome, which has only recently been completed.
The topping-out ceremony took place last Saturday. And this is what the Palace looks like at the moment (please click on each image to enlarge):
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