The State Hermitage or Imperial Hermitage before 1918, is located in Saint Petersburg. It is one of the most important museums not only in Russia but in the whole world.
Its collection includes more than 3 million objects collected, which are works of art and monuments of world culture from the Stone Age to the present day. The total area of the Hermitage is more than 230,000 square meters, of which more than 65,000 are occupied by exhibition spaces.
The museum is located in 5 main buildings interconnected and forming a single museum complex.
The Hermitage was founded on December 7, 1764 by Russian Empress Catherine II. This superb museum began its history with the purchase of a private collection comprising 317 precious paintings, which was initially housed in a special wing of the palace which was called the Hermitage. Now this square is known as the Small Hermitage. The collection contained paintings by Dick Van Baburen, Hendrik Van Balen, Rembrandt Van Rijn and many other famous artists. To date, there are at least 96 of these early paintings exhibited in the Hermitage. This collection grew to include the painting collection of Baron Pierre Crozat in 1772, that of British Prime Minister Walpole in 1779 and that of Count Baudouin in 1781, but it also contained the libraries of Diderot and Voltaires, cameos and other treasures.
Over time the collection grew and after some time the original premises in which the works of art were stored proved to be insufficient, so from 1771 to 1787 the large Hermitage was built. The new building was intended to house the palace’s art collections. In addition, the Hermitage had one of the oldest theaters in Saint Petersburg and Russia, which was built in 1783.
The idea of transforming the Hermitage into a public museum came from Nicolas I who contributed significantly to the reconstitution of the museum’s art gallery.
But it will not be until February 5 (17), 1852 with a considerably expanded collection that the Hermitage will open to the public. For this a new building called the New Hermitage was built.
At that time the Hermitage already possessed the richest collections of monuments of ancient, oriental, Egyptian, and medieval cultures of Western and Eastern European art. The museum also contained archaeological and artistic monuments of Asia and Russian culture from the 8th to the 18th centuries.
Now the museum consists of 5 interconnected buildings. The Winter Palace , which was once the main imperial palace. The Small Hermitage (North and South Pavilions, and the Hanging Garden). The Great Hermitage also called the Old Hermitage, the Hermitage Theater built on Peter I’s Winter Palace, which has been partially preserved, and the New Hermitage .
The Winter Palace Reserve House which is a late 19th century mansion and the Hermitage garage built in 1911 for Emperor Nicholas II are included in the complex of Hermitage buildings as Dependencies.
Additionally, the Hermitage has several other buildings including the Menshikov Palace which was built for the city’s first governor, Alexander Menshikov. This was the first stone building in Saint Petersburg. The Hermitage also uses the wing of the General Staff Building built in 1820, which is a museum exhibition complex, the Imperial Porcelain Factory Museum and the Stock Exchange Building on Vasilyevsky Island . The latter houses the Museum of the Russian Guard and Heraldry.
Another important part is the restoration and storage center of the State Hermitage, part of which offers us very interesting guided tours.
And finally, since spring 2020, because of the quarantines caused by the coronavirus, we can take virtual tours of this superb museum. We will see that in our next article.
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The modern Hermitage is located at Place Embankment, 32-38 (Main Museum Complex). It is open every day except Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., as well as Wednesdays and Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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