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The State Hermitage Museum

The State Hermitage occupies six magnificent buildings situated along the embankment of the River Neva, right in the heart of St Petersburg. The leading role in this unique architectural ensemble is played by the Winter Palace, the residence of the Russian tsars that was built to the design of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754-62. This ensemble, formed in the 18th and 19th centuries, is extended by the eastern wing of the General Staff building, the Menshikov Palace and the recently constructed Repository.

Put together throughout two centuries and a half, the Hermitage collections of works of art (over 3,000,000 items) present the development of the world culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. Today the Museum is creating its digital self-portrait to be displayed around the world. Computer technologies enable the State Hermitage Museum to provide people from all over the world with wider access to information about the Museum and its treasures.

1754-1762 Construction of the Winter Palace commissioned by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli (1700-1771)

1762 Empress Catherine II's accession to the Throne

1764 Empress Catherine II purchases Johann Ernest Gotzkowski's collection, the first collection of the Museum

1764-1775 Construction of the Small Hermitage

1769 Purchase of Count Heinrich von Bruhl's collection

1771-1787 Construction of the Great Hermitage

1772 Purchase of Baron Pierre Crozat's collection

1779 Purchase of the Walpole collection

1781 Purchase of Count Baudouin's collection

1783 Construction of the Hermitage Theatre

1787 Purchase of the John Lyde-Brown collection, London

1795 Creation of the St George Hall

1815 Purchase of Empress Josephine's collection

1825 Emperor Nicholas I's accession to the throne

1826 Creation of the Military Gallery of 1812 by Carlo Rossi

1830-1840 Finishing of the interiors designed by Alexander Bryulov

1833 Creation of the Fieldmarshals' Hall and Peter I's Room (Small Throne Room) by architect Auguste Montferrand

1837 Fire in the Winter Palace

1840 Reconstruction of the state halls of the Winter Palace by Vasily Stasov following the fire of 1837

1850 Purchase of the Cristoforo Barbarigo collection

1852 Opening of the Imperial Museum of the New Hermitage

1858 Construction of the Pavilion Hall by architect Andrei Stakenschneider

1860 Creation of state rooms in the Large Hermitage by architect Andrei Stakenschneider

1861 Purchase of the Marquis Gian Pietro Campana collection

1865 Purchase of Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna and Child (Litta Madonna)

1870 Purchase of Raphael’s Madonna and Child (Conestabile Madonna)

1884 Purchase of the Alexander Basilewski collection

1885 Transfer to the Hermitage of the Imperial Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal collection

1895 Emperor Nicholas II's accession to the throne

1914 Purchase of Leonardo da Vinci’s Madonna with a Flower (Benois Madonna)

1914 Start of World War I. A hospital is opened in state rooms of the Winter Palace.

1917 The February Revolution and Emperor Nicholas II's abdication

1917 The October Revolution removes the Provisional Government

1917 The Winter Palace and the Hermitage are declared state museums

1920 The Hermitage transfers 460 items to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow

1920-1930 Acquisition of items from nationalized private collections

1932-1934 Sale of Hermitage collections and transfer of works of art to museums of the Union Republics of the USSR

1941 Start of World War II and evacuation of the Hermitage collections to the Urals

1945 Re-opening of the Museum after the conclusion of World War II

1948 Acquisition of a collection of late 19th – early 20th century European paintings from the former collections of Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov

1964 The 200th anniversary of the Hermitage

1967 First donation by L.N. Delektorskaya of works by Matisse

1981 Opening of a museum in the Menshikov Palace, a new branch of the State Hermitage

1992 Opening of the display "The Winter Palace of Peter I" in the building of the Hermitage Theatre

1995 The exhibition "Hidden Treasures Revealed"

1996 By decree of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the State Hermitage is placed under the direct patronage of the President of the Russian Federation

1996 The official announcement of the creation of the international Hermitage Friends Club

1997 The return of Rembrandt’s Danae to public viewing following restoration work

1997 A small planet in the solar system, ¹4758, is given the name Hermitage

1997 The beginning of the Hermitage - IBM Project

1999 The transfer of the national flag of the Russian Federation and of the standard of the RF President to the State Hermitage

1999 The opening of exhibitions in a new museum building : the Eastern Wing of the General Staff building

1999 The presentation of the “Great Hermitage” programme

2000 The opening of the Hermitage Rooms in Somerset House (London)

2001 The "Russian Ark" project of the State Hermitage and Alexander Sokurov

2001 The opening of the Hermitage-Guggenheim exhibition centre in Las Vegas, USA

2002 The transfer of Kasimir Malevich’s painting Black Square to the State Hermitage

2003 The creation of the State Hermitage's Board of Trustees

2003 The opening of the Great Courtyard of the Winter Palace and the new entrance to the State Hermitage from Palace Square

2003 The opening of the Great Courtyard of the Winter Palace and the new entrance to the State Hermitage from Palace Square

2003 The inauguration of the Museum of the Guards in the General Staff building

2004 The inauguration of the displays of the Museum of Heraldry and the Museum of Awards and Decorations in the Konstantinovsky Palace

2004 The opening of the Hermitage-Amsterdam exhibition complex in the Netherlands

2, Dvortsovaya Ploshchad (Dvortsovaya Square)
190000, St Petersburg
Metro Stations: "Kanal Griboyedova", "Nevsky Prospekt", "Gostiny Dvor"
Trolleys: 1, 7, 10
Buses: 7
Express buses: 7, 10, 147
Minibuses: 128, 129, 147, 228

Recorded Information
(812) 710-96-25
(812) 710-90-79
visitorservices@hermitage.ru

The Main Museum Complex, Menshikov Palace, General Staff building and Museum of Porcelain
Tuesdays – Saturdays 10.30 - 18.00
Sundays 10.30 - 17.00
Closed Mondays
Ticket windows shut one hour before the museum closes

Winter Palace of Peter the Great
Tuesdays – Saturdays 10.30 - 17.00
Sundays 10.30 - 16.00
Closed Mondays
Ticket windows shut one hour before the museum closes

Storage Facility in Staraya Derevnya
Wednesdays – Sundays 11.00, 13.00, 13.30, 15.30
Visits are by guided tour only. Places may be reserved in advance. To order, phone 344-92-26
Museum ticket window - tel. 344-92-71

Temporary exhibitions are closed to visitors 30 minutes before the closing of the museum

On holidays and days preceding holidays (except Mondays and January 1), the museum is open from 10.30 to 17.00

Regular entrance ticket (for all other categories of visitors) - 350 rubles

children, students, members of ICOM – free

first Thursday of every month - free

foreign citizens working in institutions accredited on the territory of Russia - 100 rubles (proof - permission for permanent residence on the territory of Russia issued by the RF Ministry of Internal Affairs)

Cost of an entrance ticket for other buildings in the Museum Complex General Staff, Menshikov Palace, Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Museum of Porcelain - 200 rubles (for each)

Special exhibitions

The Treasure Gallery, section one (Gold Rooms) or section two (Diamond Rooms) - 300 rubles. Guided visits only

Photography and video filming
Ticket for the right to take amateur photos - 100 rubles
Ticket to take amateur videos - 350 rubles

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