Hermitage Museum, Art museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia
This institution stretches across five connected buildings along the Neva River, including the Winter Palace with its white and green baroque facade. The complex contains more than 350 halls with green malachite columns, gilded stucco work, and chandeliers distributed over several floors.
Catherine the Great founded the collection in 1764 by acquiring Western European paintings from a Berlin private collection. After the 1917 revolution, the imperial rooms opened to the public and expanded with confiscated artworks from aristocratic houses.
Visitors encounter a living tradition of art appreciation that shows itself in the quiet galleries and the respectful behavior before masterpieces. Locals often arrive with sketchbooks to copy works, while international guests wander through the halls experiencing the atmosphere of a royal collection.
The building opens Tuesday through Sunday from noon and remains accessible until evening, with wheelchair access and guided tours in several languages available. Due to the size of the collection, planning ahead helps prioritize the areas you wish to see.
More than 60 cats live in the basement and continue a centuries-old tradition started by Empress Elisabeth to protect the collections from rodents. Each cat has a passport and medical records, and they enjoy their own heated rooms in the underground level.
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