No more free admission: in Berlin, theHumboldt Forum, one of Germany’s largest and most visited museums, will charge for much of what used to be visited without shelling out a euro. The new fee model, based on a single ticket, will officially come into effect as of October 3, 2025, and will replace the differentiated fees affecting different museums in the complex.
Currently, the Humboldt Forum’s pricing policy includes a €7 ticket for the permanent Berlin Global exhibition dedicated to the city’s history, €3 for access to the terrace, and free admission to the Palace Cellars, the Video Panorama exhibition (which offers anintroduction to the history of the site), the Sculpture Hall, the Ethnological Museum (Ethnologisches Museum), and the Museum of Asian Art (Museum für Asiatische Kunst), counting only the permanent spaces and thus not including in the list of free admission the various temporary exhibitions that can be visited without paying. For the Berlin Global exhibition there is then a broad set of categories that are eligible for free admission. The new policy that will go into effect this fall, unveiled by Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss, aims to ensure economic stability in the context of increasingly pressured budgets as well as, a note from the foundation says, to “maintain the high quality of the existing program, to enable us to regularly add new exhibitions and expand them when necessary.”
Under the new system, a single admission ticket will provide access to the Berlin Global exhibition, the Ethnological Museum, the Museum of Asian Art (in essence, the most well-known and popular venues in the complex), the special Family Matters exhibition, and the Museum Knoblauchhaus located in the Nikolai district. Added to this offering are the temporary exhibitions set up on the second and third floors of the complex. Visitors will have a choice between a one-day pass, a two-day pass and a group ticket. The one-day pass will cost 14 euros, with reductions to 7 euros for eligible categories, and free admission for some eligible persons. The two-day pass will be sold at 18 euros, with concessions at 9 euros. The group ticket, designed for up to five adults with or without children, will have a fixed cost of 50 euros with no further reductions. Reductions will remain valid for students, trainees, volunteers up to 30 years old, unemployment benefit recipients, volunteer card holders and people with severe disabilities. Other sections that already are and are not affected by the new fee policies will remain accessible free of charge.
The introduction of this fee schedule marks a significant change in management. The Ethnological Museum and Asian Art Museum collections had been free of charge sincethe Humboldt Forum opened. However, the foundation that runs the museum points out, from the outset the free admission fees had been thought of as a kind of limited offer: “the past few years have shown,” reads the statement in which the foundation announced the new fees, “that, in the long run, public funding alone is not sufficient to cover the rising costs of operation and maintenance while funding new programs. To ensure that the Humboldt Forum remains a diverse meeting place for Berlin society and to enable the development of new content, the organizers opted for a funding model that also includes admission fees. In this way, the Humboldt Forum will contribute to its own funding--as well as public and third-party funding--in these financially difficult times, while continuing to develop its interesting program.”
Christine Rieffel-Braune, board member of the Humboldt Forum, says, “Our goal is not only to keep the Humboldt Forum a vibrant place for all, but also to ensure its further development: open, diverse and fit for the future. This new pricing model allows us to create a good balance between sustainable financing and maximum accessibility, combined with broad cultural participation. Proceeds from admission fees will ensure the further development of the Humboldt Forum, while important parts of the program will continue to remain free.” Indeed, the Forum does not intend to give up its inclusive dimension. Numerous spaces and events will remain visitable at no cost. These include the Humboldt Lab, which now houses the exhibition On Water: WaterKnowledge in Berlin, educational workshops, the grand staircase with the exhibition Impressions: The Humboldt Brothers, and spaces dedicated to the history of the site, such as the Palace Cellars, the Sculpture Room, the Video Panorama as well as the Flashbacks section. Cultural events such as Studio 9, Guestroom and the Durchlüften music festival will also remain free admission, along with numerous educational activities. Admission will continue to be free for children and young people up to the age of 20, in addition to the categories already covered by reductions and concessions. Also confirmed is the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin’s annual pass, which provides free access to the collections of the Ethnological Museum and the Museum of Asian Art.
The new pricing policy will remain in effect until the Family Matters program ends in mid-July 2026. A long-term strategy for the period thereafter will also be defined at that time. In the meantime, advance ticket sales have started as early as August 13, 2025, offering the opportunity to plan visits early.
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| Berlin, Humboldt Forum says no more to most freebies: going from 0 to 14 euros |
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