Dynamic events continue in Berlin in 2023. Below is a concise guide to the major openings, exhibitions and festivals shaping the city this year.
Charité Museum of Medical History
The Charité Museum of Medical History reopens in early 2023 after an extensive expansion and modernization. Its special collection houses around 10,000 pathological and anatomical specimens that document 300 years of medical history. Visitors can explore the renovated and enlarged exhibition spaces to see these preserved historical objects up close.
© Medical History Museum
Tempelhof Airport
The former Tempelhof Airport continues its transformation into a hub for art, culture and events. From spring, the airport tower opens to the public with an exhibition floor and a rooftop terrace. Tower THF – 360° Berlin offers panoramic views across the vast Tempelhof site and presents new cultural programming in a unique historical setting.
Fotografiska
Fotografiska opens its Berlin branch in spring 2023, becoming the museum’s fourth location after Stockholm, New York and Tallinn. Housed in the former Kunsthaus Tacheles, Fotografiska Berlin occupies almost 60,000 square feet and will present multiple contemporary photography exhibitions simultaneously, showcasing established and emerging international talent.
Freedom and Unity Memorial
The Freedom and Unity Memorial at the Humboldt Forum is scheduled for inauguration in 2023. The installation is a large, walkable steel bowl mounted on a concrete platform, commemorating the peaceful revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Designed to respond to collective presence, the structure slightly tilts when groups of people gather on one side.
© Mo Wuestenhagen
Berlinische Galerie
Berlinische Galerie expanded its permanent displays in late 2022 with a powerful new presentation that illuminates the daily lives of prisoners forced to work for the GDR state security. The exhibition, Forced Cooperation: The prisoner work crews of Hohenschönhausen, opens previously unseen working and living spaces and is complemented by rotating contemporary art shows and public programs running through 2023.
Berlin International Film Festival
From Feb. 16–26 the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival screens hundreds of new films across the city. Berlinale remains one of the world’s largest public film festivals, attracting global stars and emerging filmmakers to screenings, premieres and industry events at venues throughout Berlin.
Festival Days at the State Opera
In early April the Festival Days at the State Opera take place with highlights including Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and a piano recital featuring works by Bach and Beethoven. The festival runs at Philharmonie Berlin and brings high-caliber classical performances to the capital’s concert season.
© Ron Bernthal
Other Events
Late May brings the Carnival of Cultures, a four-day street festival and multicultural parade through Kreuzberg that celebrates Berlin’s cultural diversity. The event features live music, street food and performances across the neighborhood.
On July 22 the 45th Christopher Street Day (CSD) | Berlin Pride celebrates LGBTQIA+ visibility and equality with a large street parade and a citywide program of events promoting tolerance and inclusion. The parade culminates in a Pride Festival finale.
On Sept. 24 the 49th BMW Berlin Marathon brings roughly 40,000 runners to the city streets for one of the world’s largest and fastest marathon courses, passing many of Berlin’s iconic landmarks.
On Oct. 19 Andrea Bocelli performs at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in a program that blends classical repertoire, musical theater and film music. Bocelli will be accompanied by a large symphony orchestra, choir and guest artists for an evening of crossover classical music.