The reform of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation: “We want to get the best out of the houses”

Klaus Biesenbach, the director of the Neue Nationalgalerie, has recently drawn a frightening picture of the situation in the state museums. It took months to fix a module hanging from the ceiling in his office. You also hear about climatic problems at the Hamburger Bahnhof, water in the garage right next to the picture gallery depot. How bad is it really?
PARZINGER: We have a complex architectural heritage, on the one hand the historical buildings on the Museum Island, on the other hand the post-war modernism in West Berlin, which now also has to be renovated. But that has nothing to do with the fact that administrative processes have become more and more centralized over the years at the SPK. For example, the museums’ own general administration was relocated to the presidential administration years ago due to a lack of resources. This brings savings, but the distances become longer. That’s why we want to use the foundation reform to strengthen the ability of the individual houses to act again.