The Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) is one of a group of museums at Berlin's centrally located Museum Island. The museum boasts a fine collection of nineteenth-century artwork, mainly paintings and sculptures from the German romantic period.Alte Nationalgalerie can be traced back to a drawing by king Frederick Wilhelm IV dated 1841. However, the credit for the design of this building, one of five on Museum Island, goes to architect Friedrich August Stüler who imagined a temple-like structure built on a pedestal of stone. Work on the gallery began in 1866 but, unfortunately, Stüler died later that year. The management of the site reverted to Johann Heinrich Strack, who oversaw the project until its completion ten years later, in 1876. The most noticeable aspect of the museum is the massive steps outside the neo-Classical-style building. Though these were not included in Wilhelm's sketch, Stüler thought them appropriate for a building of such stature. There's also a marvelous sweeping staircase inside.