Ever wanted to see how a real bunker looks inside? This is your chance. Join us for a visit to the Boros Collection at the Bunker in Berlin.
The Boros Foundation promotes and supports contemporary art in a high-rise bunker in Berlin Mitte. You need to book your visit in advance and participate in a guided tour during which the background and raison d’être of the works on show are shared with the group.
The bunker was built in 1941 by forced labor. It was supposed to become an air raid shelter, a safe heaven for civil population during the war. After the war the Soviets kept there prisoners of war. Since then, the bunker has been a textiles and fruit storage in the DDR, a techno club after the fall of the Berlin Wall, a theatre and sex exhibition area and much more.
Today, it is the home of the Boros Collection. It is impressive as a building and the expertise and dedication of the Boros is really at a WOW level. We cannot stop wondering how there are art lovers who can and want to get a whole bunker and then furnish it with fantastic art just out of love for the thing.
The private collection focuses on contemporary art by international artists from the 1990's and onwards. The exhibition area is over 3000 m2 allowing a fantastic review of the works currently on show. The collection is very private as you will only get to see the current works on show in a guided tour - do not forget to book your visit in advance.
You need to leave purses and bigger bags in the free lockers that function with one euro coins.
There are two loos, at the beginning and the end of the tour and they are both accessible per se but given the need to go stairs up and down, the museum itself is not really good for persons in a wheelchair or with a pram. During our visit, the tour was not accessible but only for those walking and doing stairs on their own.
Also, there are eight entrances so you need to check where you are: the main entrance for the tours is in Reinhardstraße but don’t worry, when you register for a tour, you will get an info email with clear instructions. You can also choose between German and English tours.
There is really no museum shop but you can see the catalogues from the previous exhibitions and books bout some crucial artists in the collection - all on show and on sale in the waiting area.
You cannot take photos of the works so we have a nice small collection of the walls and stairs instead - worth seeing on their own right! For some of the art photos, check the Boros website and book your visit!
Visit and photos by Hanna Graeffe
Sammlung Boros
Bunker, Reinhardstraße 20, 10117 Berlin-Mitte
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