World History and Culture: State Hermitage Museum opened "The Iron Age. Europe without Borders" exhibition

On November 11, 2020, the State Hermitage Museum opened the exhibition "The Iron Age. Europe without Borders" within the Year of Germany in Russia 2020/2021. It is an extensive international scientific project and the next step in the cooperation between Russian and German museums.

The exposition in the Manege of the Small Hermitage features more than 1600 exhibits from the archaeological collections of the State Hermitage, the State Historical Museum, the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (brunch of the Berlin State Museums). The exhibition presents a great variety of archaeological material. It includes the items of the Iron Age in Italy, Hallstatt culture, the artefacts of the Celtic culture, the famous treasures of the Scythian steppe mounds, ancient monuments, antiquities of the Koban culture of the North Caucasus and the forest cultures of Eastern Europe.

"The Iron Age. Europe without Borders" exhibition aims to represent the culture, economy, everyday and ceremonial life of Europeans of the Iron Age using archaeological material. The exposition is arranged according to chronological and geographical principles. It includes various thematic sections relevant to archaeological cultures that existed over a wide area from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Ural Mountains in the east. Museum items are showcased according to regional groups of cultures and archaeological complexes, such as burial grounds, settlements, hidden treasures, and accidental finds.

The monuments whose fates were affected by the tragic events of World War II are of particular importance. The exposition includes a lot of exhibits related to the so-called "relocated collections" that were brought to the USSR as trophies. They remained inaccessible for study for a long time because of their status. Despite the continuing disputes about the owner of these archaeological collections, this exhibition proves the possibility of harmonious and friendly work of Russian and German museums.

"The Iron Age. Europe without Borders" exhibition was organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Representative Office for Culture and Mass Media of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The exhibition will run at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint-Petersburg until February 28, 2021, and from April 15 to July 15, 2021, at the State Historical Museum in Moscow.