Frequently Asked Questions | Jewish Museum Berlin (2024)

Our core exhibition can be visited free of charge, along with other exhibition areas, with the exception of temporary exhibitions.

Temporary exhibitions in the Old Building can be visited with a museum ticket, which costs 10 € for adults and 4 € for people entitled to a reduction (students, active federal volunteers, unemployed people [ALG I] and severely disabled people with the correct I.D.) Children and young people under 18 years of age can enter for free.

You can book tickets for a specific time window online before your visit at our ticket shop, or in person at the ticket counter.

You can find a list of all prices for exhibitions, tours, workshops, audio guides, and other discounts on the Planning Your Visit.

You can book tickets for a specific time window or an event online before your visit at our ticket shop, or in person at the ticket counter.

Tickets for events organized by cooperating partners and taking place on our museum's premises can only be purchased from the cooperating partner or at the box office on the day of the event. You will find more information on the event page on our website.

We have compiled a list of admission fees for our exhibitions on our website.

Please use our Group Registration form if you would like to visit the museum with a group. You will receive the tickets for the exhibition at the museum’s ticket counter on the day of your visit.

Unregistered groups may not be admitted together or may even be turned away during crowded periods.

The nearest U-Bahn (subway) stations are Kochstraße/Checkpoint Charlie (U6) and Hallesches Tor (U1, U3, U6). After exiting either station, it is about an 800 meter walk to the Jewish Museum Berlin.

The nearest bus stops are Jüdisches Museum (248), Zossener Brücke (M41), and Lindenstraße/Oranienstraße (M29).

You can plan your journey by public transportation using the BVG route planner at www.bvg.de.

Yes, the JMB app is available in German, German plain language, German Sign Language, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Russian.

You can download the JMB App onto your smartphone for free in the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store or borrow a device to use it on for a fee.

All exhibition texts at the Jewish Museum Berlin are bilingual in German and English. We also offer our audio guide, the JMB App, in German, German plain language, German Sign Language, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Russian.

You may also reserve tours in many other languages. You can find out which languages the tours are offered in on our Tours page.

Taking pictures and videos inside the museum is permitted as long as it's for purely personal use. However, you may not use tripods, flash, or selfie sticks.

Professional filming and photographing are only permitted in the Jewish Museum Berlin with permission from our Press Office. You can find an application on the Press area of our website. Please complete the application and fax or email it to the Press Office (T +49 (0)30 259 93 419, F +49 (0)30 259 93 400, or [email protected]), which will get back to you.

In the museum, you can use a hotspot provided by Deutsche Telekom for three hours a day.

In the exhibition spaces in the Libeskind building, mobile reception is limited for some networks.

Unfortunately, bringing pets to the museum is not permitted, with the exception of assistance dogs such as seeing-eye dogs.

More house rules, we would ask you to comply with, will make your visit as pleasant and safe as possible.

If you realize you have lost something after you get home, please contact our Visitors’ Service.

Contact:
T +49 (0)30 259 93 549
[email protected]

The museum café does not offer kosher cuisine, but small kosher snacks as well as a selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

More about kashrut on our website.

In the Glass Courtyard and the museum garden, you are welcome to eat food you have brought from elsewhere.

Eating and drinking is not permitted in the exhibition spaces in order to protect the original objects.

The Academy has a coffee and beverage machine in the lobby. You may also eat food in the Diaspora Garden.

The museum shop is located near the entrance of the museum. It is operated by Bavaroi Berlin GmbH. The shop carries Judaica and high-quality accessories; books on Judaism, Jewish life in Germany, architecture, and current JMB exhibitions and events; children’s items; and textiles, ceramics, glass, and stationery – naturally including souvenirs of Berlin, postcards, and notebooks.

ANOHA, the children’s world of the JMB, is also represented. In the ANOHA shop-in-shop, books, games, handicraft ideas, and other products give visitors of all ages appropriate opportunities to engage with the Torah story of Noah’s Ark.

You can also purchase our museum's publications (the publications are also listed on our website).

The shop is open from 10 am to 6 pm.

Lindenstr. 9–14
10969 Berlin
[email protected]

Rooms of various sizes and equipment are available for rent in the museum's baroque Old Building. The museum garden also offers many options for events.

You can find more information on the Rooms for Rent page of our website.

Contact:
T +49 (0)30 259 93 569
F +49 (0)30 259 93 432
[email protected]

The entire exhibition space is accessible to wheelchair users.

All public areas have elevator access. Parts of the grounds of the Jewish Museum Berlin have historical paving stones, which affects access to the group entrance and the museum garden. The space between the stelae in the Garden of Exile is unfortunately slightly too narrow for a wheelchair.

The main entrance can be accessed via a stair-free path with a roughly 9 percent incline. The axes in the Libeskind building have inclines between 2.65 percent (toward the stairs) and 3.9 percent (toward the Holocaust Tower). They slope downward up to 1.5 percent side-to-side. The Glass Courtyard is accessible via two ramps on the sides.

All the public rooms in the Academy are also wheelchair accessible.

The coat room has wheelchairs, which you may borrow during your visit. You can also reserve a wheelchair by emailing [email protected].

If you arrive by car and have a disabled parking permit ("Blue Badges"), you can use one of two parking spaces located close to the museum.

The Jewish Museum Berlin has two disabled-access toilets. One is located near the rear entrance to the Old Building at the foot of the stairs to the upper level; the other is located on the lower level of the Libeskind building.

Extensive information about accessibility can be found at Accessibility at the Jewish Museum Berlin.

If you have any further questions about your museum visit, please contact our Visitors' Service department, which would be happy to help.

Contact
T +49 (0)30 259 93 300
F +49 (0)30 259 93 566
[email protected]

If you arrive by car and have a disabled parking permit (“Blue Badges”), you can use one of two parking spaces located close to the museum.

Because there is currently a lot of construction around the museum, we recommend that you send a brief email to our Visitor's Service department ([email protected]) before your visit to make sure that the parking spaces are accessible.

You can find our offerings for visitors with disabilities in our calendar by selecting Accessible offerings. We plan to expand our offerings in the future.

Extensive information about accessibility can be found at Accessibility at the Jewish Museum Berlin.

Yes, this is possible. Induction loops are issued at the info counter.

You can also download the JMB App onto your smartphone for free in the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store.

Extensive information about accessibility can be found at Accessibility at the Jewish Museum Berlin.

The core exhibition Jewish Life in Germany: Past and Present is also suitable for young people and children. Interactive stations like the high striker, the selfie-station, and a Musicroom playfully demonstrate the exhibition's themes.

At ANOHA – The Children's World of the Jewish Museum Berlin , children between the ages of 3 and 10 are invited to discover, explore, and play. Noah's Ark from the Torah stands at the center of the Children's World of the Jewish Museum Berlin—a huge round wooden ship where 150 play animals live.

You can also register for thematic tours and workshops. There is a vacation program and the option to celebrate a child's birthday at the museum. You can find a list of our programs for kids here on our website.

During the Jazz in the Garden concerts in the summer, there is a kids' program. You can find out more in our website's events calendar.

All exhibition areas are accessible to strollers.

The museum garden and the rooms of the Academy can be easily navigated with a stroller. The space between the stelae in the Garden of Exile is slightly too narrow for a stroller.

There are two baby-changing stations in the museum. One is located near the rear entrance to the Old Building at the foot of the stairs to the upper level; the other is located on the lower level of the Libeskind building.

We do not provide diapers and wipes. The nearest place to buy them is at Mehringplatz, approximately 5 minutes away on foot.

You can find the schedule of public tours in our calendar of events. Visitors can book a place in advance, but this is not required. You can find the list of topics and times on the tours page. Book your tickets online.

The tours cost 6 € per person, reduced rate 3 € (for students with school ID, university students, members of the German Federal Volunteer Service, recipients of unemployment benefit I [“ALG I”], people with severe disabilities [minimum of 50 percent] – with ID or documentation). The ticket price is not included in the price of tours of temporary exhibitions. The meeting point is in the Old Building on the ground level, by the “Meeting Point” in the foyer.

We also offer a wide range of thematic tours that you can book for your group (family, birthday party, company outing, etc.) as well as workshops and tours for school groups and after-school groups by reservation and various teacher training programs.

You can inquire about a tour for your group by email or telephone. We recommend booking about 4–6 weeks before the desired date.

A maximum of 15 people may participate in one tour. If the group is larger, it will be divided. In such cases, we request that you reserve as many different topics as tour groups. You will find an overview of all available topics here on our website. Please note that we have a separate list of bookable topics for school groups.

Tours generally last 90 minutes. Workshops are often longer. To find out how much each program would cost for different groups, please see our price list.

So the tour can start on time despite the security check, you should arrive at the museum with your group 30 minutes before the program starts.

We would be happy to advise you about thematic focus areas, workshops, and other programs.

Contact:
Coordination office
T +49 (0)30 259 93 305
[email protected]
(Available Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm.)

It is possible to book tours in German, English, French, Hebrew, Italian, and Spanish. Other options, including Simple German and German Sign Language, may be available on request.

We also offer tours for people with blindness or limited vision.

Please book in advance and ask us directly about your desired language in order to find out whether a tour guide for that language is available.

Contact:
Coordination office
T +49 (0)30 259 93 305
[email protected]
(We are reachable from Monday to Friday, 10 am to 4 pm.)

You can reserve tours (see the list on our website) or arrive with your own guide for a licensing fee. You can reserve a group and purchase a license.

To make your visit a pleasant as possible, we ensure that each exhibition room is not too crowded at any given time. We must be notified in advance of any tours by non-JMB guides. We charge a licensing fee of 70 € per group (of up to 15 people). Licensed tours can only be arranged at specific times and must be reserved at least two weeks beforehand.

We can also register your request or booking personally: You can reach us by phone Monday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm at +49 (0)30 259 93 305 or email us at [email protected].

If you would like to visit the museum as a group without a guided tour, please register in advance of your visit.

During peak visitor periods, unregistered groups will not be admitted and will be asked to split up amongst the available time slots. We recommend using the JMB app.

School groups and other groups of students aged 6 to 19 may participate in tours, workshops, and project days on a variety of topics. You will find an overview of all available workshops and tours here on our website.

We also offer extensive online materials that students can use for research. From reports about projects by other school groups to online materials and games, we’ve compiled an overview of everything we think might interest elementary and high school students both at school and at home.

ANOHA, the Children's World of the Jewish Museum Berlin, gives elementary school classes a playful view into the story of Noah's Ark from the Torah. The children's museum encourages young people to contemplate the respectful coexistence of humans, animals, and nature, and to be personally active in creating a diverse and better world.

We are also happy to advise you on which programs would be suitable for your school group. We recommend that you reserve four to six weeks in advance of the desired date. Contact: T +49 (0)30 259 93 305 or [email protected].

Our museum has a library with holdings related to Jews in Germany, art, and culture, as well as numerous reference works. Some 20,000 volumes are accessible in our public stacks and other holdings can be requested from their location. You can learn more about their history and the focuses of our collection on the library’s web page on our website.

For information on requesting materials, on our library’s online catalog, other online research options, media equipment, accessible databases, and opening hours, please see our web page for the Reading Room.

The holdings of our archives can also be used on request (for contact details, see the archive page).

You can browse some of our museum’s collections online at objekte.jmberlin.de (only in German). Individual holdings are also cataloged in finding aids, which you can use for your research: Finding aids at objekte.jmberlin.de (only in German).

You can find more information on the focal points of our collections and the responsible contact people in the Collections area on our website.

Your contacts for photo permissions are Valeska Wolfgram and Birgit Maurer-Porat (T +49 (0)30 259 93 433, email: [email protected]). We are happy to provide further information about the costs and conditions for permissions upon request.

Loan requests must always be made six months before the beginning of the exhibition. (Extensive requests require eight months.) Requests must be made in writing to the director (Hetty Berg, Stiftung Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Lindenstr. 9-14, 10969 Berlin).

After we have reviewed the request and considered the suitability of the objects requested for loan, you will be contacted and informed whether the loan is possible and under what conditions.

For questions regarding administrative processes, please contact Katrin Strube (T +49 (0)30 259 93 417, email: [email protected]).

You can find more information about themes of the collection, as well as the correct contact people for the collections here on our website.

You may use our in-house holdings for research purposes. The opening hours of our Reading Room at the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy, opposite the museum, and contact people for our Archive are listed here on our website. We have also compiled a directory of links to research opportunities for personal and family research and genealogy here on our website.

The term “kosher” is usually used in connection with Jewish dietary laws, which are also called kashrut. A kosher food is permitted, while a treif food is forbidden.

One important aspect of kashrut is the separation of meat and milk products when eating, storing, and preparing them.

It is only permitted to eat certain animals. Permitted animals must also be slaughtered according to specific rules.

More about kashrut on our website.

The Hebrew word kippah means cap. In Yiddish, this head covering is also called a yarmulke or kappel. Jewish men wear a kippah at synagogue and when praying, studying religious texts, or visiting a cemetery. Other types of head coverings are also permitted on these occasions. In an emergency, even a tissue that covers the back of the head or another person's hand serves the same purpose.

Some Jews also wear a kippah in everyday life as a sign of their Jewishness or because this is the traditional practice in the religious community they identify with. Unlike in Orthodox Jewish circles, in Reform congregations, kippot (the plural of kippah) may be worn by men and women alike.

The Jewish calendar begins 3,760 years before the Christian one on the presumed date of the creation of the world. The divisions of the months are based on the lunar cycle, while the length of the year is determined by the sun. Each month begins with the new moon.

The months of the Jewish calendar are Tishrei, Marheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, and Elul. The Jewish year begins in the fall with Tishrei (September/October). According to a fixed cycle, leap months are inserted to compensate for the discrepancy between the number of days in a solar year versus a year of twelve lunar months.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, falls on 3 and 4 October in the year 2024, for example, beginning the Jewish year 5785.

If you would like to support the Jewish Museum Berlin and believe you possess materials that may be of interest to us, contact us! We will need your name, address, and a short description of the objects you would like to donate. Please do not send us any materials without prior arrangement.

Bequests and memorabilia of Jewish families in Germany are a focus of our collections. Of particular interest are photographs, documents, film clips, paintings and graphic art, sculptures, textiles, Judaica, and three-dimensional everyday objects related to the following themes: contemporary history, specialist and gray literature on Jewish art, professional life, Jewish institutions and Jewish religious and social life, Jewish festivals and holidays, Zionism, and rural Judaism.

Contact:
Aubrey Pomerance, Head of the Archive/Leo Baeck Institute
T +49 (0)30 259 93 556
F +49 (0)30 259 93 409
[email protected]