The Monsterkabinett is a permanent and evolving exhibition in the cellar galleries beneath Haus Schwarzenberg in Berlin Mitte. The 20 minute guided tour performance presents 20 years of extraordinary work by the artist group Dead Chickens.
“The Bloch”, a 4m high mechanical monster by Hannes Heiner stands in the main courtyard of Haus Schwarzenberg watching over the entrance to the Monsterkabinett. He rolls his eyes, bats his lashes and flaps his wings, extending an invitation to meet his fellow creatures in the subterranean domain of the Monsterkabinett.
Allow a trusted guide to lead you down the narrow winding stair and into the bizarre and labyrinthine world of the Monsterkabinett where monstrous yet loveable creatures- in turn terrifying, tragic and comical- inhabit a world beyond the imagination. Driven by a compelling rhythm, the fantastic mechanical beings of the monsterkabinett dance and sing. Music and machine merge and thrill to the beat. Highlights of the exhibition include a giant spider which fortunately does not bite, my personal favourite, the hilariously poignant “Trampeltier” and the “Spiegelraum”- a room which has to be seen to be believed. A tour through the Monsterkabinett is an unforgettable experience- grotesque and poetic and berlin underground in every sense of the word.
open Thursday 6-10pm, Friday-Saturday 4-10pm

www.monsterkabinett.de
Rosenthaler Str 39, 10178, Berlin
+49(0)178 8060202

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It's a 1.3km length of the the Berlin Wall with amazing art work recently restored. Pollution and graffiti ruined the first lot so get to see it before this happens again. (I visited on 7th March 2011)

www.eastsidegallery.com/
Mühlenstraße 1, 10243 Berlin-Friedrichshain, Germany
Google map: bit.ly/htW6x6
+49(0)30 251 7159

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Great little cellar bar in Oranienburger Strasse. Go down the steps and be greeted by the bowler-hatted Ian Dury-esque owner/designer of this DIY retro establishment. Homemade artworks and paraphenalia adorn the brick walls, candles drip wax over their holders, smoke-filled ambience and Rolling Stones grooves. Relax on a big-armed sofa and discuss the Tachelles art collective (just along the road) over a Berliner Weisse green or red. A real taste of creative, underground Berlin.

Oranienburger Str. 40
10117 Berlin
Google map: bit.ly/gf10hf

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GoArt! organises tours in the contemporary art scene in Berlin, which is huge, brilliant, and apparently one of the most vibrant in the world at the moment.

www.goart-berlin.de

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Just an hour outside Berlin by car lies a real hidden gem. The Woerlitzer Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – is one of the most dazzling examples of landscape gardening in continental Europe. Having been inspired by a trip to England, Prince Leopold III started work on the 122 hectare public garden in 1764. Now it stands – a stunning series of labyrinthine paths, winding rivers and ponds – as an oasis of calm, and a true work of art.

For directions see
www.woerlitz-information.de/woerlitz-en/ko/anfahrt.php

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This rustic gallery displays a collection of experimental art, especially by artists from what used to be East Germany.

Auguststrasse 26
D - 10117 Berlin
Phone.: +49.30.280 6605
www.eigen-art.com/

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A large and wonderful collection of Islamic art throughout Islamic history.

www.smb.spk-berlin.de/smb/sammlungen/details.php?lang=en&objID=12&typeId=1

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Less a museum in the British sense and more an art gallery, with a range or erotic work, from Japanese scrolls to pieces by Georg Grosz and Weimar-era pornographic cartoons that were used as political satire. Far more interesting than the Sex Museum in Amsterdam.

Joachimstaler Straße 4, Charlottenburg; S3, S5, S7, S9/U2, U9 Zoologisher Garten. 10623 (886 0666)

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Over 1km of Berlin Wall decorated with graffiti art. The best place to view the remaining wall - no tourists

Muhlenstrasse by River Spree, U-bahn Warschauer Strasse

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In the old east part of town, this is a large old, somewhat derelict and entertaining art workshop. It has a lively bar, with huge garden and installations.

It is on Oraniensburgerstrasse, opposite the bar Obst und Gemuse (literally fruit and veg!)

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A nightclub/alternative art gallery/run-down building. It has a silly number of bars, sofas on the roof, films projected onto the opposite building and old cars to sit and drink in. Popular with laid-back locals & travellers.

oranienburger strasse

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Berlin's answer to Tate Modern. This fantastic museum for contemporary art sits in a old railway station (hence the Bahnhof). With works from Lichtenstein to Joseph Beuys it's a must for all modern art lovers.

www.hamburgerbahnhof.de/cont/conte/

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See the "last built European Boulevard" by taking a walk eastwards from the astonishing Alexanderplatz. Take a look at the Cinema International with its fabulous lobby. By passing the Strausberger Platz you will enter Karl-Marx-Allee with its splendid and opulent façades (built in the early 1950s by socialist workers using war ruins). It was east Berlin's pride and aorta and, now again, there are nice cafes, art galleries and the street's sheer monumentality will take your breath.

Karl-Marx-Allee; nearest U-Bahn: Alexanderplatz or Strausberger Platz (U5)

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One of Europe’s greatest – if less well-known - art galleries, the Gemäldegalerie contains stunning works by Cranach, Dürer and Holbein. Usually empty. My favourite picture is The Fountain of Youth, by Lucas Cranach the Elder. It’s the one where a group of crones climb into a large basin and emerge as nymph-like young women. I find it rather erotic. Shut on Mondays.

Stauffenbergstrasse 40; Nearest U-Bahn: Potsdamer Platz

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If you ever wondered where most of ancient Mesopotomia ended up, here’s your answer. The Pergamon contains numerous treasures looted by German archaeologists, including the Ishtar Gate – Babylon’s extraordinary front door - and the Pergamon Altar - an amazing Elgin Marbles-style frieze stolen from what is now Turkey.

Am Kupfergraben; Tel: 0049-30208050; www.smb.spk-berlin.de/

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Few things beat a sweet, creamy coffee on a sunny winter morning in Berlin and this café also has delicious cakes, plus organic ice cream so good you want to eat it even when it's cold outside. The cafe gets the sun all day so is perfect for reading a newspaper and watching the world go by.

It also has art for sale - hence the name - some original modern-style paintings of Berlin that I just love.

Zionskirch Str 75 Nearest tube: Senefelder Platz

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Funky out-sized statues of founding fathers of Communism, looking very much like you favourite uncles when you've done something of which they're very proud, but they don't want all the praise going to your head. I defy you to see them and not want to stroke them. Surrounded by brushed metal pillars with black-and-white photos of suitably rallying Communist incidents. Gorgeous in the winter when there's snow on the ground.

Between Alexanderplatz and the Palast der Republik

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A project and exhibition space, showing art works of the members of a Thuringian art association. Also presenting the project in Buscha, an old farm that shall be turned into an artist-in-residence.

Schönhauser Allee 172, backyard, 10435 Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg. www.buscha.com, U2 Senefelderplatz

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A contemporary art gallery in Kreuzberg, showing interesting innovative work by up and coming artists. Free.

Oranienstr, Kottbusser Tor U-bahn

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