The Hermitage

The Hermitage is one of the largest art museums in the world, the exposition of which is located in more than 350 halls. A special place is occupied by the ceremonial interiors of the Palace. The Hermitage occupies 6 buildings: the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Big (Old) Hermitage, the Hermitage theatre, the New Hermitage, the General staff. The main entrance to the Museum is from the Palace square through the large courtyard of the Winter Palace.

The extant Winter Palace was built by the outstanding architect Rastrelli in 1754-1762 for Empress Elizabeth, who had not lived to see its completion. This Grand Palace is the apotheosis of the Russian Baroque. Rastrelli did not have time to finish decorating the premises – the new Empress Catherine II gave him his resignation. In 1760-1790 the years of space remade in classic style by Felten, Quarenghi, by sharovym.

The building of the Winter Palace amazes with its Grand size (200×160 m) and solemn look. His upward aspiration is emphasized bunk columns and statues on them. (Building height-22 m). The total area of the Palace-60,000 square meters, it has more than 1,000 rooms, 117 different stairs.

In the post-revolutionary years in the building of the Winter Palace were various departments and institutions. In 1922, only part of the building was transferred to the Hermitage, and in 1945 the entire Palace was transferred to the use of the Hermitage. For a century and a half, the Hermitage has one of the world’s largest collections, numbering about three million works of art and monuments of world culture, from the stone age to our century.