The Hermitage is the largest collection of Russian art in the
world. It started out as a private collection of Empress Catherine
the Great. She commanded the Russian ambassadors across the world
to purchase the best pieces of art that they could find and
gradually grew her collection. Only few selected people were
allowed to see her collection. In one of her letters she wrote:
"Only the mice and I can admire all this." Today, the Hermitage is
one of world's most important collections of art.
The Hermitage itself is located in the Winter Palace - lavish
winter residence of Russian tsars. The Palace has 1,057 halls and
rooms that are now open to the public. The palace is one of the
most luxurious places on the face of our planet. The Palace Square
is just as rich in history. It is where the December rebellion had
been crashed and where the Bolshevik rebellion has succeeded.
It was on this square that the imperial guard opened fire on a
peaceful demonstration in 1905, igniting the revolution that would
culminate in the storming of the Winter Palace by the Bolsheviks in
1917. In the center of the Palace Square stands the
Alexander Column, memorializing the role of Alexander the I in
stopping the Napolean's invasion.
St Petersburg is a strikingly
beautiful, historic city packed with sights to see, but the
high-spot of any visit has got to be a visit to the Winter Palace -
the fabulous green, white and gold palace of the tsars that sits by
the side of the River Neva. The Winter Palace, of course, includes
the State Hermitage Museum, one of the world's greatest art
galleries - a gallery so remarkable that it is worth traveling all
the way to Russia just to see it.
The origin of this gallery goes back to the times of
Catherine the Great, when she began to create her own private
collection of paintings. Now, after two and a half centuries, it
occupies six buildings and hosts a collection of about 3 million
exhibits including many of the finest masterpieces of European art.
To see all the art displayed you'd have to cover a distance of
about 14 miles - and yet the majority of the collection is not even
on display (though now there is public access to some of the vast
reserve collection in the north of St Petersburg which is
definitely worth visiting)!
The Palace and its collection are so massive it's impossible
to see everything, even in several visits. Perhaps the best way to
explore it is first to go on a high-speed reconnaissance tour for a
2-3 hours to get an overview of as much as you can see. Then go
back later (on another day when you've recovered!) to concentrate
on your favorite bits and see them properly. Even so, after several
visits you will touch only the tip of the iceberg.
There are three elements to visiting the Winter Palace. Firstly, it
is where Russian tsars spent their lavish lives during the winter -
this is where the name comes from. After the Romanov's, the winter
palace was a residence of provisional governments, Bolsheviks
headquarters and later it became a magnificent museum filled with
remarkable historical artifacts. And finally, there is the
Hermitage art gallery itself.
Among the highlights of the art gallery are the Renaissance
collection with its fabulous Raphael, the Impressionists (Cezanne,
Monet) and the 20th century paintings (Picasso, Matisse,
Kandinsky). Highlights of the historic palace are the Malachite
room, the Great Nicholas Room where glittering imperial balls were
held, the Concert Hall and the imperial carriages. Visitors
concentrating on the art treasures often miss the Museum
altogether, but it's actually a major museum, with a wealth of
fascinating exhibits including finds from Russia's ancient Scythian
culture (notably the amazing gold and silver antiquities in the
Golden Room, which costs extra and has to be booked in advance,
plus the mummified corpses and horses from the burial mounds, and
the 2500 year-old carpet).
The Hermitage's popularity, of course, means that lines could be
huge, but there are couple tricks to get around them. Buy tickets
online and in advance. Get a guided tour. Your guide will whiz your
account. You can get an official tour from the 'excursions' office
located on the premises, but t is a better idea to ask your travel
agent to arrange a good guide for you who will not only take you to
the best places and things, but also be able to tell you're
fascinating stories. With a guided tour you won't have any stress
in this giant palace where rooms form intricate
labyrinths.
Explore the amazing Hermitage and Winter Palace on one of our
tours to St. Petersburg |
