- Accident near painting gallery: damage in catalog warehouse
Following a water damage incident in administrative buildings belonging to the State Museums, including the Painting Gallery, at the Kulturforum in Berlin, the foundation has reported initial damages. "The catalog storage area of the Publications Department of the State Museums in Berlin has been particularly affected," a spokesperson for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation stated.
While the water in the affected area of the administrative buildings did not reach the lowest shelves, steam has damaged numerous unsealed exhibition catalogs. The exact extent of the damage is currently being assessed.
A broken remote heating line caused water to leak
On Sunday, approximately 2.5 million liters of water leaked into the basement of the administrative buildings on Stauffenbergstraße, adjacent to the Painting Gallery, according to fire department reports. The water stood about 15 to 20 centimeters high. The cause was a broken remote heating line.
Firefighters pumped out large amounts of hot water and ventilated the buildings. The risk was that the high temperatures would cause moisture to spread throughout the building.
No water entered the Painting Gallery or other museum rooms at the Kulturforum, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation stated. "No damage has been done to works or rooms of the Painting Gallery, and there was never any threat of such damage," said Dagmar Hirschfelder, director of the Painting Gallery.
The water leak from the broken remote heating line led to significant water damage in certain administrative buildings. As a result, the catalog storage area of the Publications Department at the Kulturforum experienced water damage.
The initial assessment revealed that numerous unsealed exhibition catalogs in the affected area were affected by both water and steam, potentially causing further damage unless addressed promptly.
