State Hermitage

State Hermitage

Russia may be isolated from the artistic centers of Paris, Rome, and London, but the Hermitage has managed to acquire a spectacular collection of world art—more than three million items—spanning the years from the Stone Age to the early 20th century. The museum occupies six buildings along the Neva River, the leading structure being the confection-like Winter Palace. This gloriously baroque, blue-and-white structure was finished in 1764 and over the next several centuries was the main residence of the czars. Catherine the Great founded the museum that same year when she purchased 255 paintings from Berlin. The museum’s focal point is Western European art—120 rooms in four buildings ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day. Rembrandt, Rubens, Tiepolo, Titian, da Vinci, Picasso, Gauguin, Cézanne, van Gogh, and Goya are all represented here. For in-depth tours, contact Glories of the Hermitage.
Main attractions: The Treasure Gallery’s Gold Rooms showcase golden masterpieces from Eurasia, the Black Sea Littoral in antiquity, and the Orient. The museum also houses pieces from Nicholas II’s private collection, including paintings, drawings, and medals created to commemorate his coronation.

Inside  the museum:

Must see collections:

Michelangelo’s Crouching Boy

A singular artwork by Renaissance sculptor and painter Michelangelo, this unfinished marble statue depicts a crouching boy in the nude. It is the only piece of his work within the Hermitage’s hallowed halls.

Statues of Atlantis

The building of the New Hermitage, which was designed to house the imperial museum collection, is guarded at the portico by 10 columned granite figures each representing a different artist, scientist, or thinker from history.

Treasure Gallery

Between the rare pieces of Scythian and ancient Greek jewellery showcased in the Gold Rooms, and the exquisite collection of the Diamond Rooms, the immeasurable worth of the Treasure Gallery speaks for itself.

Raphael’s Madonna Conestabile

One of the highlights of the Hermitage Collection (otherwise known as Madonna and Child), don’t miss the opportunity to see one of Raphael’s seminal masterpieces up close and personal. The collection also comprises an early work on a similar theme, The Holy Family.

Malachite Room

The spectacular Malachite Room is a vast sweeping drawing room caked in gold and embellished with lavish crimson curtains and malachite ornamentation. Once the drawing room of Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna (wife of Nicholas I), this room is particularly impressive.

Kolyvan Vase

Main Staircase.
It might not sound like much, but the Main Staircase is one of the museum’s most popular attractions. A cacophony of gilded frescoes and ornamentation, this ceremonial staircase is embellished with granite columns, classical sculptures, and sweeping balustrades of marble.

Peacock Clock

Comprising a mechanical golden peacock, cockerel, and an owl, the resplendent Peacock Clock is a unique timepiece designed by the famous London jeweller and goldsmith, James Cox.

Leonardo Da Vinci Room

Never mind the underwhelming Mona Lisa, the Hermitage Collection contains not one but two masterpieces by Leonardo da Vinci: the Madonna Litta and the Benois Madonna, one of the artist’s most popular works.

Knight’s Hall.

As one of the largest interiors in the New Hermitage building, this majestic room is unsurprisingly a visitor highlight. The neo-Greek décor was originally intended to host a collection of coins, but today it showcases the history of arms and armour between the 15th and 17th centuries.

H Global Rankings 2016

1. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York 

2. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 

3. State Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia 

4. Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France

5. National Anthropology Museum, Mexico 

6. September 11 Memorial, New York 

7. Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain 

8. British Museum, London, UK 

9. Acropolis Museum, Athens 

10. Vasa Museum, Stockholm, Sweden

General Information:

Location:

Palace Square, 2, Sankt-Peterburg, Russia, 190000

Hours:

Saturday	10:30AM–6PM
Sunday	10:30AM–6PM
Monday	Closed
Tuesday	10:30AM–6PM
Wednesday	10:30AM–9PM
Thursday	10:30AM–6PM
Friday	10:30AM–9PM

Tickets: 

• Museum’s ticket offices

600 RUB – entry ticket to the Main Museum Complex and the branches (the Main Museum Complex, the General Staff Building, Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory)

400 RUB - entry ticket to the Main Museum Complex and the branches (the Main Museum Complex, the General Staff Building, Winter Palace of Peter the Great)
for Russian and Belarusian citizens

300 RUB - entry ticket to one of the Hermitage branches (Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre)

The first Thursday of each month is a day of free entrance to the museum for all individual visitors (with free tickets).

• Ticket Purchase Online

$ 17.95 - One-day entrance ticket to the Main Museum Complex and General Staff Building. 

$ 22.95 - Two-day entrance ticket to the Main Museum Complex, General Staff Building, Winter Palace of Peter the Great, Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.

Free entrance: preschool children, school children, students