Historia sztuki, uniwersytet, muzeum i centrum Berlina 1810-1873

The role history of art as an academic discipline played in the history of Berlin’s University of Frederick William is discussed. One of the reasons for this to have been up to now underestimated may be found in the common belief that although the promotion of history of art as an academic discipline is owed to universities in general, in the particular case of the ‘Berlin School’ it resulted from the activity of researchers connected with the museum. Such an attitude is false in the sense that the museum itself was essentially a product of the university history of art. Thanks to the pursuits of such scholars as Aloys Hirt, Gustav Friedrich Waagen, Heinrich Gustav Hotho, and Franz Kugler, the university found itself in the heart of the museum movement, up to this very day decisive for the shaping of the cultural face of the city. The fact that in 1818-27 the University was the only Berlin institution that could boast a collection accessible to the general public was of crucial importance for the designing by Karl Friedrich Schinkel of an artistic museum (today’s Altes Museum) opened in 1830. The concept of a university that simultaneously served as a museum worked as a model to follow. It was not given up after 1830, when the University collection was transferred to the Museum. The raising of the museum building provided Berlin’s centre with a stable structure, delineating space among the castle, university, and the museum which redefined its urban design.