Museum Sunday beckons for the last time – there is no money

Budget cut

Museum Sunday attracts free admission for the last time

For many years, Berliners could go to the museum for free on a Sunday. Because there is no more money for 2025, this is the last chance for now.

Due to cuts in the capital’s cultural budget, many Berlin museums are offering free admission for the first time on Sunday. It is with a “heavy heart” that we have to say goodbye to Museum Sunday, it says on the community project’s website. Since the start of the 2021 action day on the first Sunday of each month, the organizers have counted more than 2.2 million visitors.

Almost 80 cultural institutions, including large and small, publicly funded and private museums, offer admission as well as various program items such as guided tours or workshops. Included are, among others, houses such as the Altes Museum on Museum Island in Berlin-Mitte.

The black-red coalition is planning three billion euros in the Berlin state budget for 2025. Culture is expected to contribute 130 million euros, around twelve percent of its previously planned budget. The monthly Museum Sunday is also included in the savings list.

“Everyone tried to continue with a reduced museum Sunday (e.g. once every 2 months or once a quarter) as part of the budget consolidation, but unfortunately they were unsuccessful. The Berlin government coalition has decided against a continuation,” said the Berlin Cultural Projects.

Accordingly, almost 80,000 visitors arrived at the last museum Sundays. It was not yet possible to estimate the rush for the upcoming edition.