Nefertiti Bust Draws 1.2 Million Visitors A Year to Berlin Museum

2830202273_719b58e797_t The bust of ancient Egyptian queen Nefertiti, whose ownership is a point of dispute between Germany and Egypt, has drawn some 1.2 million visitors since the Neues Museum where it is displayed re-opened in 2009, museum officials announced recently.

The museum, on Berlin’s UNESCO World Heritage Site-awarded Museum Island, was shut for 70 years after being badly damaged in World War II bombing, and will celebrated its first anniversary since re-opening on October 16.

The 3,300-year-old Nefertiti bust is the centerpiece of the museum’s collection. Officials there say it was legally purchased in 1913. But Egyptian officials have continued to insist that the bust should be returned.

Source by http://www.germany.info