1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
India electionsIranIsrael-Hamas war

A German will head the British Museum

September 29, 2015

The director of the prestigious British Museum Neil MacGregor is going to Berlin, and a German art expert, Hartwig Fischer, will replace him. He becomes the first foreigner to head the museum in 200 years.

https://p.dw.com/p/1GdNH
Museum director Hartwig Fischer, Copyright: Matthias Hiekel dpa/lsnKunstsammlungen Dresden
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hiekel

Last April, Neil MacGregor announced he would be leaving the British Museum to lead the advisory board of the Humboldt Forum, in charge of the reconstruction of Berlin's City Palace.

The museum spent five months searching for his replacement. Neil MacGregor's connections with German cultural institutions could have contributed to finding his successor in Germany, as "The Times" reported on Friday.

The trustees have elected the German art historian Hartwig Fischer as MacGregor's successor, a decision which has now been approved by the prime minister, making it official. Fischer is currently the director general of the Dresden State Art Collections. He is expected to take on his new position in December. The Dresden State Art Collections didn't want to confirm the report to DW.

The British Museum is one of the most renowned museums in the world. It attracts about 6.7 million visitors every year. The last time a foreigner was in charge of the prestigious institution was in 1772.

eg/jb (dpa, "The Times")

Skip next section Explore more

Explore more

Neil MacGregor, Copyright: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Burgi

Neil MacGregor brings global perspective to Berlin

Neil MacGregor brings global perspective to Berlin

Cosmopolitan Berlin? Its international airport has failed to take off and it lost a half-hearted Olympic bid to Hamburg. Now Berlin is banking on museum director Neil MacGregor to boost its global cultural relevance. (09.04.2015)
April 9, 2015
Pressedossier der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden - Luther Einschränkung

National exhibition in Torgau to mark anniversary of the Reformation

National exhibition in Torgau to mark anniversary of the Reformation

On May 15, 2015 Torgau will open the first of four special exhibitions in the run-up to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. "Luther and the princes" focuses on the mutual influence of politics and religion. (13.05.2015)
May 13, 2015