Stiftung Berliner Schloss - Humboldtforum

What Stiftung Berliner Schloss - Humboldtforum does

Stiftung Berliner Schloss - Humboldtforum is a German charitable foundation established in 2015 to operate the Humboldt Forum, a major cultural museum complex housed in the reconstructed Berliner Schloss on Schloßplatz in central Berlin. The Forum houses the Ethnological Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst (in partnership with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), the permanent BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition (co-developed with Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin), and a rotating slate of temporary exhibitions including 'On Water - WasserWissen in Berlin' and contemporary art shows such as 'Mirae kh Rhee - Weiterreichen.' Educational workshop spaces (Werkräume) are operated in partnership with Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and the foundation runs the Humboldt Labor for academic engagement with the collections.

The foundation operates a multi-channel cultural platform combining physical exhibitions with digital offerings, including the Sammlungen Online portal (sammlungenonline.humboldtforum.org) and the Medienguide digital self-guided tour application. On-site amenities include retail shops, restaurants and cafés, the Dachterrasse rooftop terrace, and rentable event spaces such as the Schlüterhof courtyard. The Forum opened to the public in 2020, expanded with the East Wing in September 2022, and has since convened international cultural dialogues through the Global Cultural Assembly.

Revenue is generated through five streams: ticket admissions, on-site retail, food and beverage operations, venue rentals for private and corporate events, and public funding from the German federal and state governments. The primary customer segments are general public visitors, families with children, and event organizers; international cultural cooperation partners form a secondary ecosystem. The foundation itself employs 6 administrative staff, with on-site museum operations delivered in collaboration with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and other institutional partners.

Name

Stiftung Berliner Schloss - Humboldtforum

Legal name

Stiftung Humboldt Forum im Berliner Schloss

Website

https://sbs-humboldtforum.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Humboldt Forum is a German public foundation operating a major cultural museum complex in Berlin's reconstructed Berliner Schloss, presenting Ethnological and Asian Art collections, temporary exhibitions, and educational programming for general visitors, families, and event organizers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Museum Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712), Museums (712110), Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage Institutions (Archives, Historic Houses, Monuments Foundations) (THAJADAI), Art Galleries & Exhibition Spaces (Commercial & Nonprofit) (THAJADAH)

Keywords

• Cultural institution operations
• Museum exhibitions
• Arts and culture venue
• Venue rental services
• Museum retail and dining

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Admission fees for museum visits, exhibitions, and special events
2. Retail Operations: On-site shops selling merchandise, books, and cultural items
3. Food and Beverage: On-site dining and catering services including restaurants and cafes
4. Venue Rentals: Rental of spaces including the Schlüterhof, event spaces, and facilities for private and corporate events
5. Public Funding: Government funding from German federal and state governments for cultural institution operations

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Stiftung Berliner Schloss - Humboldtforum operates the Humboldt Forum, a cultural museum institution housed in the reconstructed Berliner Schloss on Schlossplatz, Berlin. It presents the Ethnological Collections, the Museum for Asian Art, the BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition, and rotating temporary exhibitions, supported by on-site amenities including shops, restaurants and cafés, the Schlüterhof courtyard, the Dachterrasse (rooftop terrace), and event spaces available for private and corporate rental.

Product overview

The Humboldt Forum is a cultural museum institution located in the reconstructed Berlin Palace (Berliner Schloss) in Berlin. It operates as a unified platform combining multiple museums and offerings: the core Ethnological Museum and Museum für Asiatische Kunst (Asian Art Museum), the permanent BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition on Berlin's global connections, rotating temporary exhibitions, a digital Medienguide for self-guided tours, Werkräume workshop spaces for hands-on activities, and an online collection database (Sammlungen Online). Additional visitor amenities include a rooftop terrace, shops, restaurants, and event spaces. The institution presents cultural collections, historical narratives, and contemporary programming in a modern museum setting.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BERLIN GLOBAL: Permanent exhibition exploring Berlin's connections with the world and its people.
• Ethnologische Sammlungen und Asiatische Kunst
• Humboldt Labor
• Werkräume

Products and services

• Humboldt Forum Museum Admissions Admission tickets granting visitors entry to the reconstructed Berlin Palace museum complex, including access to temporary and permanent exhibitions across multiple galleries; available to individuals and groups online and at the box office.
• BERLIN GLOBAL Permanent Exhibition Permanent exhibition exploring how Berlin and its people are connected with the world, presented in collaboration with Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, covering themes including colonial histories and queer migrantic Berlin.
• Ethnological Collections and Asian Art Neopresentation of the Ethnological Collections and the Museum for Asian Art, displayed in partnership with the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin and featuring objects such as the Mangaaka power figure.
• Medienguide Digital Guide Digital self-guided tour application for visitors to explore the museum independently with object stories and navigation, accessible on personal mobile devices.
• Sammlungen Online (Online Collections) Online collections database hosted at sammlungenonline.humboldtforum.org, providing global digital access to the museum's holdings.
• Werkräume Workshop Spaces Hands-on workshop spaces where visitors can take part in making, discovering, playing, reading, and learning activities across five days per week.
• Venue Rentals for Private and Corporate Events Rental of event spaces including the Schlüterhof, the Passage connecting Lustgarten and Schlossplatz, and additional facilities for corporate functions, weddings, receptions, and conferences, with on-site catering options.
• On-Site Shops On-site retail shops selling books, cultural merchandise, and museum-related items to visiting members of the public.
• On-Site Restaurants and Cafés On-site dining and catering services including restaurants and cafés available to museum visitors and event clients.
• Videopanorama Immersive video installation taking visitors on a visual journey through eight centuries of history.
• Dachterrasse (Rooftop Terrace) Access Visitor access to the rooftop terrace of the reconstructed Berlin Palace, offering panoramic views of central Berlin and the surrounding historic district.

Quantifiable outcome

• 80+ international partner organizations engaged at East Wing opening in 2022

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Global Cultural Assembly PartnersflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2025International network of cultural institutions and partners convened in 2022 and 2025 to develop ideas for the future of the Forum. 2025 conference 'From Declaration to Action' continued dialogue on cultural cooperation and decolonization.
• Staatliche Museen zu BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022State Museums of Berlin partner with Humboldt Forum to house Ethnological Museum and Museum for Asian Art within the Forum. Collections are jointly presented with ongoing collaborative exhibitions and shared curatorial resources.
• Humboldt-Universität zu BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumboldt University operates the Humboldt Labor within the Forum, providing academic programming and research activities. Partnership focuses on educational outreach and academic engagement with museum collections.
• Stiftung Stadtmuseum BerlincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity Museum Berlin collaborates on the BERLIN GLOBAL exhibition, contributing to the presentation of Berlin's global connections and local community stories within the Forum.
• Endangered Languages ArchiveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for video installation on endangered languages and family themes, demonstrating commitment to linguistic diversity and preservation.
• ZZK RecordsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMusic label partnership for festival programming, featuring label nights and international artists as part of cultural events like 'Durchlüften 2026'.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Pergamon Museum: Adjacent Berlin museum on Museum Island operated by the same Staatliche Museen zu Berlin network. Shares the same parent collection system and competes for the same tourist itineraries, particularly for antiquities and cultural-history visitors.
• Deutsches Historisches Museum: Berlin's national history museum located near Museum Island. Directly competes for the same cultural-tourism audience in central Berlin and operates a comparable mix of permanent and temporary historical exhibitions.
• Neues Museum Berlin: Berlin Museum Island institution housing the Egyptian Museum and Collection of Classical Antiquities. Direct geographic competitor within walking distance of the Forum and operates under the same parent collection partnership.
• Weltmuseum Wien: Vienna's ethnographic museum with global cultural collections and similar decolonization discourse. Comparable in collection focus and the institutional challenges of presenting ethnological holdings in European museum contexts.
• Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac: Paris museum focused on non-European arts and civilizations, particularly ethnological collections from Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. Most directly comparable to the Humboldt Forum in scope, curatorial mission, and the same colonial-provenance debates shaping both institutions.

Broad incumbents

• British Museum: London-based encyclopedic museum combining ethnological, Asian, and world cultural collections under one roof. Closest international analog in scale and curatorial breadth, and faces parallel restitution and provenance pressures on its holdings.
• Rijksmuseum: Amsterdam's national museum combining art, history, and cultural collections with strong digital offerings. Comparable as a major publicly-supported European cultural institution with diversified programming and a flagship building.
• Louvre Museum: Paris's flagship encyclopedic museum with diverse global collections including Near Eastern and Asian holdings. Broader in scope and scale but faces the same European cultural-institution dynamics around provenance, ticket sales, and venue rental economics.
• Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York's flagship encyclopedic museum with extensive Asian, African, and global collections plus a major digital program. Comparable as a globally-significant cultural institution combining encyclopedic scope with significant digital and educational outreach.

Emerging players

• Musée national des arts asiatiques – Guimet: Paris museum dedicated to Asian arts, sharing much of the same collection focus as the Forum's Museum for Asian Art. Comparable in curatorial mission though smaller in scale and visitor footprint.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stiftung-berliner-schloss---humboldtforum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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