Czars' times | Touristic atraction
When Catherine the Great got the Russian throne she moved to the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg, one of the five buildings of the Hermitage. Since then she begun to acquire paintings, sculptures and other pieces of art, always choosing from the best samples in the world. Each one of the czars that ruled the country after Catherine increased the collection. Today it is one of the world’s most complete painting collections. The Hermitage complex was declared State Museum in 1917 and it rises on the Shore of Neva River. The Hermitage is formed by the Hermitage theatre, the Great Hermitage, Winter Palace and the Small Hermitage.
The museum houses more than 3 million pieces which have been bought by many czars during the centuries. Among them you can find Asian, Russian, Greek, Roman and Western Europe’s art. There are paintings, sculptures, antiquities, jewellery and archaeological pieces and weapons.
The Winter Palace was the first of the Hermitage’s buildings. It was started by Empress Elizabeth and finished after her death. This building, where many of the most outstanding events of Russian history took place, was the czars’ residence until the revolution of 1917.
During her reign, Catherine II build the second building, the Small Hermitage between 1765 and 1769. Their interior has two exhibition rooms and magnificent hanging gardens. Nowadays the building links the Winter Palace and the rest of the buildings. Not long after being finished the Small Hermitage was full of art pieces and has no room for housing the new czars’ purchases. That was when they started another building, the Old Hermitage (1771 -1787).
As the Old Hermitage was being build, Catherine the Great started the Hermitage Theater (1783-1787) located on the other side of the winter canal. Since then there have been many performances there.
Between 1842 and 1841 the New Hermitage was built on the other side of the canal. This was the first Russian building especially thought to house art pieces. There you can see the big piazza guarded by the atlantis and entrance to the museum.
The State Building, built between 1820 and 1827 was the Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Economy, until it became part of the museum. Halfway the palace there is an arch with a brass sculpture of a carriage guided by six horses that leads the way to the Palace's square.
The visit to the Hermitage is a must for anyone visiting St Petersburg, due to its art collections and the architecture and luxury of its buildings.
