Berlin Museum of Musical Instruments

A collection of more than 800 instruments from the XVI century to this day is in the Berlin Museum of Musical Instruments, located in the Kultuforum in the glittering gold Philharmonic building.

The collection includes a portable harpsichord once owned by Queen Sophia Charlotte of Prussia, flutes from Frederick the Great’s collection and Benjamin Franklin’s glass harmonies, Baroque wind instruments, synthesizer precursors and a host of other rare antique instruments.

Visitors can listen to all these treasures and learn their history while listening to the museum’s multimedia terminals.

It also houses the Institute for Musical Research, a specialized library and workshop where instruments are manufactured and restored.

Every Thursday and Saturday there are concerts, the money from which goes to the needs of the museum. Usually at such concerts, the organ shines with its play. Made of 1,228 pipes, 175 plugs and 43 pistons, it is the largest in Europe. This body is designed to accompany silent films in theaters, but such a curiosity is now available to the ordinary listener.