Halls of the Hermitage: description and photos. Hermitage: let's go to the museum! Where are the ticket offices at the Hermitage?

• Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday 10:30 - 18:00 (ticket office open until 17:00);
• Wednesday and Friday 10:30 - 21:00 (ticket office open until 20:00);
• Monday is a day off.

How to get to the Hermitage

The Hermitage is located in the very center of St. Petersburg, on Palace Square. The nearest metro station is Admiralteyskaya. When exiting the metro, turn left and walk a few meters to Malaya Morskaya Street. Turn right and walk a few meters to Nevsky Prospekt. You need to go left along Nevsky Prospekt and you will find yourself on Palace Square. The entrance to the Hermitage is located on Palace Square.

You can also walk from the Nevsky Prospekt / Gostiny Dvor stations. From the metro, walk along Nevsky Prospekt towards the Admiralty to Bolshaya Morskaya Street. At the intersection of Bolshaya Morskaya and Nevsky Prospekt you will see the arch of the General Staff building, through which you will get to Palace Square. Entrance to the museum from Palace Square.

Ticket prices to the Hermitage in 2019

• for citizens of Russia and Belarus - 400 rubles;
• for pensioners (citizens of Russia), children and students (from any country) - free;
• for foreign citizens (including CIS countries) - 700 rubles;
• amateur photography – free of charge. Shooting using a tripod or using flash is prohibited;
• free visit- the third Thursday of every month, March 8, May 18 and December 7 (Hermitage Day) for all categories of visitors.

More than 3 million works of art, from the Stone Age to our century. 350 halls - the entire route will take no less than 20 kilometers. And 8 years of life - this is exactly how much time it will take to view each exhibit or painting presented (at the rate of 1 minute per exhibit). Of course, we are talking about the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, which has been recognized as the best museum in Europe and Russia for several years in a row.

You can treat Catherine II in any way you like, but it is she, “German by birth, but Russian at heart,” who stands at the origins of the most important museum of a huge country, and this fact forgives her absolutely everything!

We can say that the history of the Hermitage began quite by accident - in 1764, when the Empress, in payment of a debt to the Russian treasury, acquired a collection of 225 paintings, collected personally for an ardent collector - the Prussian king Frederick II. The latter was thereby dealt an unprecedented blow to his pride. Having not recovered from the defeat in the Seven Years' War, the Prussian monarch found himself “insolvent” and the entire collection went to Russia.

This year has gone down in the history of the Hermitage as the year of its foundation, and the museum celebrates its birthday on December 7 - St. Catherine's Day.

Subsequently, with the fanaticism and greed for enlightenment characteristic of Catherine II, she bought the best works of art from all over the world, collecting a collection in a small palace outbuilding - the Small Hermitage. Decades later, the expanded collection finds its new home - the Imperial Hermitage.

Today we will try to take a virtual walk through the most beautiful and luxurious halls of the Hermitage. We are unable to show the interiors of all 350 halls, but we will try to lay out routes to the most interesting ones in this article.

So, walks through the halls of the Hermitage

Hall of Ancient Egypt

The hall was created in 1940 according to the design of the chief architect of the State Hermitage A.V. Sivkov on the site of the Main Buffet of the Winter Palace.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The exhibition, dedicated to the culture and art of Ancient Egypt, covers the period from the 4th millennium BC. before the turn of AD Here you can see monumental sculpture and small sculptures, reliefs, sarcophagi, household items, and works of artistic craft. The museum's masterpieces include a statue of Amenemhet III (19th century BC), a wooden figurine of a priest (late 15th - early 14th century BC), a bronze figurine of an Ethiopian king (8th century BC) , Ipi stele (first half of the 14th century BC).

Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Hall

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

This is the former Gothic living room in the apartments of the daughters of Nicholas I (architect A.P. Bryullov, 1838-1839). The exhibition presents archaeological monuments of the 6th-2nd millennium BC. e., found on the territory of Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Central Asia. A slab with petroglyphs, separated from a rock near the former village of Besov Nos in Karelia, is an outstanding monument of Neolithic fine art. Of great interest are the head of a staff in the form of a moose head from the Shigir peat bog in the Sverdlovsk region, an idol from the pile settlement of Usvyaty IV (Pskov region), and female figurines found during excavations of the Altyn-Depe settlement in Turkmenistan.

Hall of culture and art of nomadic tribes of Altai VI-V centuries. BC.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The hall displays objects found during excavations of burial mounds of the 6th-5th centuries. BC, located on the banks of the Karakoli Ursul rivers in Central Altai. These are many overlays, wooden figurines and bas-reliefs with images of elk, deer, tigers and griffins, which served as decorations for horse harnesses. Particularly noteworthy is a large round wooden carved plaque, in which two figures of “circling” griffins are inscribed, which served as a forehead decoration for a horse’s harness and was found during excavations of one of the largest mounds in Altai near the village of Tuekta in the valley of the Ursul River. The perfect composition and high craftsmanship place this plaque among the masterpieces of ancient art.

Southern Siberia and Transbaikalia in the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The hall displays monuments of the Tagar and Tashtyk cultures - objects from the Minusinsk Basin (the territory of modern Khakassia and the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory). These are daggers, coins, arrowheads, works of applied art made in animal style, and carved miniatures. Tashtyk funeral masks are of particular interest. They were placed on a leather mannequin, into which the ashes of the deceased were placed, or used directly as funeral urns. The painting of women's and men's masks is different: women's masks are white, with red spirals and curls, men's masks are red, with black transverse stripes.

Moshchevaya Beam - an archaeological site on the North Caucasus Silk Road

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The gallery exhibits unique finds from a burial ground of the 8th–9th centuries, located on high-mountain terraces in the Moshchevaya Balka gorge (North Caucasus). These are fabrics and items of clothing, wood and leather products, rare for archaeological materials in preservation. The abundance of precious silks among the local Alan-Adyghe tribes: Chinese, Sogdian, Mediterranean, Byzantine is evidence of the passage of one of the branches of the Silk Road here.

Hall of Culture and Art of the Golden Horde

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The hall displays the treasures of Volga Bulgaria: jewelry made of precious metals, items made of silver and gold, weapons and horse harnesses, as well as works related to shamanic cults and written culture. Of particular interest are the “Dish with the Falconer” and the tile with Persian verses.

Portrait gallery of the House of Romanov

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The gallery, which received its current decoration in the 1880s, contains portraits of representatives of the Romanov dynasty - from the founder of the Russian Empire, Peter I (1672-1725) to the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II (1868-1918). Since the reign of Elizaveta Petrovna (1709-1761), who ordered the construction of the Winter Palace, the life of the imperial family has been inextricably linked with the history of the buildings of the modern State Hermitage. Under Catherine II (1729-1796), mistress of the Winter Palace from 1762, the Small and Large Hermitages and the Hermitage Theater were erected. Her grandson Nicholas I (1796-1855) ordered the construction of an imperial museum - the New Hermitage.

Library of Nicholas II

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The library, which belonged to the personal chambers of the last Russian emperor, was created in 1894 - 1895 by the architect A.F. Krasovsky. English Gothic motifs are widely used in the decoration of the library. The coffered walnut ceiling is decorated with four-bladed rosettes. Bookcases are located along the walls and in the choirs, where the stairs lead. The interior, decorated with panels of embossed gilded leather, with a monumental fireplace and high windows with openwork frames, introduces the visitor to the atmosphere of the Middle Ages. On the table is a sculptural porcelain portrait of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

Small dining room

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The small dining room of the Winter Palace was decorated in 1894-1895. designed by architect A.F. Krasovsky. The dining room was part of the apartment of the family of Emperor Nicholas II. The interior decor is inspired by the Rococo style. In stucco frames with rocaille motifs there are tapestries woven in the 18th century. at the St. Petersburg Trellis Manufactory. On the mantelpiece there is a memorial plaque that states that on the night of October 25-26, 1917, the ministers of the Provisional Government were arrested in this room. The decoration of the hall includes objects of decorative and applied art of the 18th-19th centuries: an English chandelier, a French clock, Russian glass.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The Malachite Hall (A.P. Bryullov, 1839) served as the state living room of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I. The unique malachite decor of the hall, as well as furnishings, were created using the “Russian mosaic” technique. Large malachite vase and furniture made according to drawings by O.R. de Montferrand, were part of the decoration of the Jasper reception room, which was destroyed in a fire in 1837. The wall of the hall is decorated with an allegorical image of Night, Day and Poetry (A. Vigi). From June to October 1917, meetings of the Provisional Government were held in the living room. The exhibition presents products of decorative and applied art of the 19th century.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The concert hall, which closes the Neva enfilade of the Winter Palace, was created by the architect V. P. Stasov after the fire of 1837. The classical architectural composition of the hall, made in a strict white color scheme, is subordinated to the divisions and rhythms of the neighboring - Nikolaevsky, the largest hall of the palace. Columns arranged in pairs with Corinthian capitals support a cornice, above which are placed statues of ancient muses and the goddess Flora. The silver tomb of St. Alexander Nevsky was created by order of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in St. Petersburg. In 1922 it was transferred to the State Hermitage from the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Field Marshal's Hall

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The hall opens the Great Front Enfilade of the Winter Palace. The interior was restored after the fire of 1837 by V. P. Stasov close to the original design of O. R. de Montferrand (1833-1834). The entrances to the hall are accented by portals. The decor of the chandeliers made of gilded bronze and the grisaille paintings of the hall use images of trophies and laurel wreaths. In the spaces between the pilasters there are ceremonial portraits of Russian field marshals, which explains the name of the hall. The hall displays works of Western European and Russian sculpture, as well as products from the Imperial Porcelain Factory of the first half of the 19th century.

Petrovsky (Small Throne) Hall

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Petrovsky (Small Throne) Hall was created in 1833 by O. Montferrand and restored after the fire of 1837 by V.P. Stasov. The hall is dedicated to the memory of Peter I - the interior decoration includes the emperor’s monogram (two Latin letters “P”), double-headed eagles and crowns. In a niche designed as a triumphal arch, there is a painting “Peter I with the allegorical figure of Glory”. At the top of the walls there are paintings representing Peter the Great in the battles of the Northern War (P. Scotti and B. Medici). The throne was made in St. Petersburg at the end of the 18th century. The hall is decorated with silver-embroidered panels made of Lyon velvet and silverware made in St. Petersburg.

Military gallery of 1812

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The Military Gallery of the Winter Palace was created according to the design of K. I. Rossi in 1826 in honor of Russia's victory over Napoleonic France. On its walls are 332 portraits of generals who took part in the War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813-1814. The paintings were created by the English artist George Dow with the participation of A. V. Polyakov and V. A. Golike. A place of honor is occupied by ceremonial portraits of the allied sovereigns: Russian Emperor Alexander I and King of Prussia Frederick William III (artist F. Kruger) and Emperor of Austria Franz I (P. Kraft). Portraits of four field marshals are located on the sides of the doors leading to the St. George and Armorial Halls.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The St. George (Great Throne) Hall of the Winter Palace was created in the early 1840s. V.P. Stasov, who preserved the compositional solution of his predecessor G. Quarenghi. The double-height columned hall is decorated with Carrara marble and gilded bronze. Above the Throne Place there is a bas-relief “St. George slaying the dragon with a spear.” The large imperial throne was commissioned by Empress Anna Ioannovna in London (N. Clausen, 1731-1732). Magnificent inlaid parquet, created from 16 types of wood. The ceremonial decoration of the hall corresponds to its purpose: official ceremonies and receptions took place here.

Hall of French 18th century art

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

This hall was part of a suite of five Halls of military paintings created by A. Bryullov after the fire of 1837, glorifying the victories of Russian troops in the period before the Patriotic War of 1812. The exhibition is dedicated to the art of France of the 1730-1760s. and represents the work of outstanding masters of the Rococo era. These are paintings by the most brilliant Rococo artist F. Boucher: “Rest on the Flight to Egypt”, “Shepherd Scene”, “Landscape in the Vicinity of Beauvais”, as well as paintings by N. Lancret, C. Vanloo, J.-B. Patera. The sculpture is represented by works by E. M. Falconet, including the famous “Cupid”, and works by G. Coustu the Elder, J.-B. Pigalya, O. Pazhu.

UK Art Hall

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

In the former Small Office of the First Spare Half (architect A.P. Bryullov, 1840s), an exhibition of British art continues. Here are paintings by one of the leading masters of the 18th century. Joshua Reynolds' "Infant Hercules Strangling the Serpents," "The Temperance of Scipio Africanus" and "Cupid Unties the Girdle of Venus." Author's copies of portraits of members of the royal family of England (artists Nathaniel Dance and Benjamin West) were intended for the interiors of the Chesme Palace. For the same complex, Catherine II ordered the unique “Service with a Green Frog” (Wedgwood company). The display cases display Wedgwood products made from basalt and jasper masses.

Alexander Hall

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The Alexander Hall of the Winter Palace was created by A.P. Bryullov after the fire of 1837. The architectural design of the hall, dedicated to the memory of Emperor Alexander I and the Patriotic War of 1812, is based on a combination of stylistic variations of Gothic and classicism. Located in the frieze, 24 medallions with allegorical images of the most significant events of the Patriotic War of 1812 and foreign campaigns of 1813-1814 reproduce in enlarged form the medals of the sculptor F.P. Tolstoy. In the lunette of the end wall there is a medallion with a bas-relief image of Alexander I in the image of the ancient Slavic deity Rodomysl. The hall houses an exhibition of European artistic silver from the 16th – 19th centuries. Products from Germany, France, Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, and Lithuania are presented.

Golden living room. Apartments of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The interior of the state drawing room in the apartment of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II, was created by the architect A. P. Bryullov in 1838-1841. The ceiling of the hall is decorated with gilded stucco ornaments. Initially, the walls, lined with white stucco, were decorated with a gilded floral pattern. In the 1840s. The appearance of the interior was updated according to the drawings of A. I. Stackenschneider. The interior decoration is complemented by a marble fireplace with jasper columns, decorated with bas-relief and mosaic painting (E. Moderni), gilded doors and magnificent parquet flooring.

Raspberry office. Apartments of Empress Maria Alexandrovna

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The interior of the Raspberry Study in the apartments of Empress Maria Alexandrovna, wife of Alexander II, was created by the architect A.I. Stackenschneider. The walls are covered with crimson damask. The interior decoration includes medallions with notes and musical instruments, attributes of the arts in stucco molding and paintings. The hall displays objects of applied art, Meissen porcelain, dishes and figurines based on the model of I.I. Candler. The Raspberry Cabinet contains a carved gilded piano of the 19th century with paintings by E.K. Lipgart.

Pavilion Hall

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The pavilion hall of the Small Hermitage was created in the middle of the 19th century. A.I. Stackenschneider. The architect combined architectural motifs of antiquity, the Renaissance and the East in the interior design. The combination of light marble with gilded stucco decoration and the elegant shine of crystal chandeliers give the interior a special effect. The hall is decorated with four marble fountains - variations of the “Fountain of Tears” of the Bakhchisarai Palace in Crimea. In the southern part of the hall, a mosaic is built into the floor - a copy of the floor found during excavations of ancient Roman baths. Exhibited in the hall Peacock watch(J. Cox, 1770s), acquired by Catherine II, and a collection of mosaic works.

Foyer of the Hermitage Theater

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

A transition gallery leads to the auditorium from the Great Hermitage, decorated by the architect L. Benois in 1903 in the French Rococo style. Lush floral garlands, scrolls and gilded rocailles frame paintings, doorways and wall panels. There are picturesque inserts on the ceiling - copies of paintings by an Italian master of the 17th century. Luca Giordano: The Judgment of Paris, the Triumph of Galatea and the Rape of Europa, above the door - Landscape with Ruins by a French artist of the 18th century. Hubert Robert, on the walls there are portrait paintings of the 18th-19th centuries. The high window openings offer unique views of the Neva and the Winter Canal.

Hall of Jupiter. Art of Rome I - IV centuries.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Leo von Klenze intended to place a sculpture of modern times in this hall. Therefore, its decor includes medallions with profiles of outstanding sculptors: Michelangelo, Canova, Martos, etc.

The modern name of the hall was given by a huge statue of Jupiter (late 1st century), which comes from the country villa of the Roman emperor Domitian. In the exhibition of art of Ancient Rome I-IV centuries. sculptural portraits and marble sarcophagi deserve special attention. The masterpieces of the collection are the “Portrait of a Roman Woman” (the so-called “Syrian Woman”), as well as portraits of the emperors Lucius Verus, Balbinus and Philip the Arab.

Loggias of Raphael

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The prototype of the Loggias, built by order of Empress Catherine II in the 1780s. The architect G. Quarenghi designed the famous gallery of the Vatican Palace in Rome, painted according to the sketches of Raphael. Copies of the frescoes were made using tempera technique by a group of artists led by K. Unterberger. On the vaults of the gallery there is a cycle of paintings on biblical subjects - the so-called “Raphael's Bible”. The walls are decorated with grotesque ornaments, the motifs of which arose in Raphael’s paintings under the influence of paintings in the “grottoes” - the ruins of the “Golden House” (the palace of the ancient Roman emperor Nero, 1st century).

Gallery of the history of ancient painting. Exhibition: European sculpture of the 19th century.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

The interior, conceived by Leo von Klenze as the entrance to the art gallery of the Imperial Museum, is intended to recall the history of ancient art. The walls are decorated with 80 paintings on subjects from ancient Greek myths and literary sources. The artist G. Hiltensperger made them with wax paints on brass boards in imitation of the ancient encaustic technique. On the vaults there are bas-relief portraits of famous masters of European art, including the author of the New Hermitage project, Leo von Klenze. The gallery exhibits works by the outstanding classical sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822) and his followers.

Knight's Hall

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

This is one of the large ceremonial interiors of the New Hermitage Imperial Museum. Initially, the hall, decorated with paintings in the historicist style, was intended for an exhibition of coins. The hall contains part of the Hermitage’s richest weapons collection, numbering about 15 thousand items. Exposition of Western European artistic weapons of the 15th-17th centuries. presents a wide range of items for tournament, ceremonial and hunting weapons, as well as knightly armor, edged weapons and firearms. Among them are products of famous craftsmen who worked in the best weapons workshops in Europe.

As was said at the very beginning, the Hermitage has 350 halls. Each of them is unique in its own way, and not a single article or book will convey even a fraction of what can be seen with your own eyes. The road to the main museum of the country is open to everyone, regardless of age or nationality. The Hermitage is waiting for you!

> The cost of visiting and the conditions for purchasing tickets can be found on the official website

> We express special gratitude to O. Yu. Lapteva and S. B. Adaksina for the opportunity to publish the Museum’s materials.

© State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

IN Hermitage I wanted to get there for a very, very long time! This is one of the largest museums not only in Russia, but also in the world! And given my interest in art in general, this museum was number one on my bucket list!

P.S. Attention! There is a lot of information and about 110 photos under the cut!

State Hermitage Museum, is not just a great museum, because at first the building, where today an endless number of people go, was conceived as the Winter Palace - the main residence of the Russian tsars! It was the center of the empire that Peter I conceived. The fate and history of Russia was decided here! Many years later, the museum fits perfectly here, which originated in 1764, as a private collection Catherine II, after the first 225 valuable paintings were transferred to her from Berlin.

It is not known why she purchased them, because she was not particularly interested in the paintings, but thanks to this purchase, the great history of the museum began!

Hermitage collection was significantly replenished thanks to Catherine’s greed and orders to buy paintings in bulk! The exhibition was complemented by the interest in art of Russian aristocrats, resellers and a large number of excavations of ancient burial mounds. Subsequently, Russian tsars and queens received many works of art as a gift, as a sign of respect! In just 20 years, a huge number of unique exhibits were collected, and new buildings were built to store the best collection in Europe!

Gradually the museum received the name "Hermitage", which is translated from French "Ermitage", means Personal peace, or Hermitage. In general, it was so, under the grandson of Catherine II, Alexander I, only selected high-ranking officials could get here, exclusively on recommendations or passes in the amount of no more than 5 people, accompanied by a footman, and then not in the Palace part, but only in the attached new buildings ! The Winter Palace was closed to everyone for a long time! Then there was a certain division of the collection, which was sorted into cases, something went to be shown to selected people, and vice versa, to hide some exhibits from unnecessary eyes.

The history of the museum is not so long, but it has managed to tell a variety of events, such as December 17, 1837 he survived one of the most monumental fires in the history of the Russian Empire. As a result of a terrible fire, the second and third floors of the Winter Palace were completely burned out, including interiors by F.B. Rastrelli, Quarenghi, Montferrand and Rossi! Surprisingly, a lot has survived. The fire lasted about 30 hours, and the building itself smoldered for almost three days. It took more than a year to restore the damaged palace.

Also, few people know, but until the early 30s of the 20th century, the facade of the Winter Palace was painted in different colors, from yellow to red! In the 1950s it was gradually repainted azure green.

Here is a still from a documentary shown on Russia 2 TV channel - Hermitage, National Treasures.

In the 20th century, the Hermitage also faced a difficult fate! Intensive industrialization was underway and the country needed money to develop the economy. The management decided to start selling collections! It was very difficult to confront the Soviet bureaucratic machine. That’s right, from 1928 to 1934, knight’s armor, ceremonial dinnerware, Scythian gold, antique coins, icons, and then paintings went under the hammer at auctions in London and Berlin. Imagine, it turns out that Catherine and her followers did everything right, because before the collection was made public, they carefully guarded it and only replenished it! Even during the fire, almost everything was saved, but at the cost of many human lives, but then they just took it and decided to sell what was lying badly and gathering dust on the wall. In two years, the number of items confiscated from the Hermitage reaches 20 thousand! Among which there are almost 3000 paintings!

Unfortunately, this is true, but many of the works that Catherine herself bought are hanging in museums in London, New York, Lisbon, Washington, Paris. Even with all this disgrace that happened during the Soviet years, the Hermitage is still considered a world-famous museum and collection!

At that time, only museum employees knew about the sale of the collection, because it was only opened to the public in 1954! For the first time, people saw the richest collections of monuments of ancient Eastern, ancient Egyptian, ancient and medieval cultures, art of Western and Eastern Europe, archaeological and artistic monuments of Asia, Russian culture of the 8th-19th centuries. There were queues for many kilometers!

I visited it in August 2015, and I can say that the number of people wishing to visit the museum has not decreased! A few days before the visit, I purchased an electronic ticket on the Internet, because I knew how much time I could lose in lines. I recommend choosing this method; you bypass all the lines and go straight to the museum’s ticket office, where you exchange your e-ticket for a regular one.

You can purchase it using the link below: Electronic tickets to the Hermitage.

Getting to the museum couldn't be easier! It is located in the very center of St. Petersburg and, as it were, embraces Palace Square cities from all sides! Nearest metro station, - Admiralteyskaya.

Official website of the Gallery: https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/

The main building of the Hermitage, also known as the Winter Palace of Peter I. It was a wonderful day, and the bright sun was shining over St. Petersburg!

Opening hours of the State Hermitage:

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: 10:30 - 18:00 pm.
Wednesday, Friday: 10:30 - 21:00 pm.

Every first Thursday of every month, admission to the museum is free!

Photography without flash is permitted.

Ticket prices varies from 300 to 600 rubles depending on the number of objects visited. Electronic tickets are usually more expensive and reach up to 1000 rubles per ticket, but they have a number of advantages, which I have already mentioned.

I would like to tell you what is inside the Hermitage today!

Cash register.

Here they exchanged my ticket from an electronic one to a regular one.

Ticket.

They also gave very detailed Museum plan diagram so as not to get lost! I'm posting it here because... I believe that it can be very useful to many for planning their visit.

The Hermitage consists of several buildings, namely the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Large (Old) Hermitage and the Winter Palace of Peter I with the Hermitage Theater.

1st Floor.

2nd Floor.

3rd Floor.

Once inside I realized that Hermitage Museum,- it is also a museum within a museum! After all, the interior of the palace is stunning, and its interior decoration, columns and paintings are amazing! Tour guides say it will take 11 years to explore it inside and out! The total length of the corridors is 22 kilometers!

First I got into Hall dedicated to the Antiquities of the Middle East.

Then he gradually moved into Egyptian Hall, where there were tombs of the rulers of Egypt and limestone tablets with hieroglyphs.

Jupiter Hall with sculptures at the head of which sits the supreme god of the Romans, - Jupiter.

Goddess of love Venus.

IN Antique courtyard I met Eros with a shell.

Asclepius,- Ancient Greek god of medicine.

Athena,- goddess of war. It looked like she was taking a selfie with her phone. :)

Amphora.

And here Hall of Culture and Art of the Ancient Cities of the Northern Black Sea Coast, which displays many exhibits found during excavations on Mount Mithridates, in the city of Kerch And Taman Peninsula, Krasnodar Territory. All exhibits are from the times of the Bosporan Kingdom.

Marble sarcophagus from Myrmekium.

A lion standing on a tomb.

Wooden sarcophagus with carved arches.

And the hall Hellenistic culture coins and jewelry are presented.

Golden laurel wreath.

Gold necklaces and earrings.

And also gold rings.

Plaster cast of Cameo Gonzaga. Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II(located temporarily in the Hermitage).

Cameo. Zeus. Sardonyx. Gold.

Hellenistic gold and silver coins.

Mosaic glass bowl.

Hall of large vases. There is a bowl made of Revnevskaya jasper from Altai. It is considered the largest vase in the world!

Very beautiful Twenty-column hall.

Greater Hydria, also known as "Queen Vaz".

I decided to go up the stairs.

On my return, another Vase was waiting for me, this time from Malachite.

1469-1529. Giovanni della Robbia - Christmas.

There has been a noticeable increase in people here, and they are looking not only at the exhibits framed behind glass, but also at the walls and ceiling! Because he is incredibly beautiful.

And here is the hall of Leonardo Da Vinci. The artist's famous works hang here! To look at and photograph his paintings, I had to stand in line for about 5 minutes.

1478-1480. Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna and Child.

Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna and Child (Madonna Litta).

1512-1513. Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) - Leda.

1508-1549. Giampietrino (Gian Pietro Rizzoli) - Penitent Mary Magdalene.

Foyer of the Hermitage Theater.

Loggia Raphael! It reminded me a lot of a similar corridor in a gallery in Florence!

Italian art didn't end there!

1740. Michele Giovanni - Rialto Bridge in Venice.

1726-1727. Antonio Canal (Canaletto) - Reception of the French ambassador in Venice.

The halls of the Italian schools are magnificent! It’s not for nothing that it was built by Nicholas I and named as "New Hermitage".

1730. Giovanni Batista Tiepolo - Triumph of the commander Mania Curia Dantata.

1647. Paulus Potter - Punishment of the Hunter.

1651. Salomon van Ruisdael - Ferry crossing in the vicinity of Arnhem.

1611-1613. Peter Paul Rubens - Head of an Old Man.

1612. Peter Paul Rubens - Christ crowned with thorns.

In fact, the whole hall was given to Rubens here!

1640. Abraham Mignon - Flowers in a vase.

1530. Lucas Cranach the Elder - Madonna and Child under an apple tree.

1770. Peacock watch made of bronze and silver.

IN Pavilion Hall a copy of the floor of an antique mosaic was laid out, the original is in the Vatican.

St. George's Hall (Great Throne Hall).

Throne footstool commissioned by Empress Anna Ioannovna in London.

Military Portrait Gallery The Winter Palace was created according to the design of K.I. Rossi in 1826 in honor of Russia's victory over Napoleonic France. Built specially by Alexander I.

Armorial Hall! Intended for ceremonial receptions.

1876 Saber of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolanvich the Elder.

Awards of Nikolai Nikolanvich the Younger.

Suddenly I found myself in Great Church of the Winter Palace or Cathedral of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

From one of the halls of the Hermitage there was an excellent view of Palace Square!

IN Alexander Hall silver products are presented.

In the hall UK arts costs Wine cooling tub, performed by Charles Candler, is a unique work that has no equal in any museum in the world.

1780. Thomas Gainsborough - Lady in Blue.

1779. Joseph Wright of Derby - Fireworks. Castle St. Angela (Girandola).

1766. Vigilius Eriksen - Portrait of Count Grigory Grigorievich Orlov.

Sabers and cuirass breastplate.

Tray dish "Apotheosis of Catherine II" depicting an allegory of Catherine’s journey to Crimea in 1787.

Mug, decorated with Western European coins.

Catherine II's uniform suit.

Malachite living room.

Large malachite bowl on a tripod in the form of winged female figures.

Concert hall.

It costs tomb of Alexander Nevsky! Was under restoration.

IN Nicholas Hall there was an exhibition of British architect Zaha Hadid.

In the center Antechamber was installed in 1958 Rotunda with malachite columns and a gilded bronze dome.

Well, that's all, I went out.

When I left the Hermitage it was almost evening, it turns out that I spent half a day in the museum. And I watched only a small part, and on the blog I told everything in a more condensed version.

I must say, even this gives an idea of ​​the grandiose scale of the museum and its amazing collection!

I went out to Palace Square, on which stood a horse-drawn carriage. It feels like I was transported many hundreds of years into the past during the time of Peter and Catherine!

It was great! The Hermitage left a very pleasant impression! Thanks to everyone who maintains and stores such a priceless treasure in the center of the Northern capital of Russia!

This is not just a museum, it is a real palace and a museum within a museum, which is very pleasant to just walk around. The exhibition shows the development of world art from the Stone Age to the end of the 20th century. This is a huge period that is very difficult to fit into one day. Therefore, many come specifically to St. Petersburg during the off-season to devote a few days to the Hermitage and experience all its value.

If you came to St. Petersburg and did not visit its museums, then you wasted your time! I highly recommend combining a walk around the city and a must visit State Hermitage Museum And

If you stand in front of each Hermitage exhibit for a minute, you will have to spend more than 10 years in the museum. More than three million exhibits, including 16,000 paintings. You inevitably start to think – is it worth going at all if you can’t embrace the immensity? We answer: you definitely need to go.

Collection of the State Hermitage

The core of the Hermitage collection is housed in five buildings connected to each other. These are the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Large (or Old) Hermitage, the New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theater. The word “Hermitage” is repeated in names very often, and in France this word is used to describe a certain type of wine or small hotels on the outskirts. Like the words “passage”, “voyage”, “carpet”, “hermitage” - of French origin, translated it means “hermit’s house”. The Small and Large Hermitages were just such a quiet, secluded place for Catherine II, where she held informal receptions and showed her collections to guests. This is how the history of the museum began, and it was Catherine the Second who is considered its founder.

By the way, in 2014 the Hermitage celebrated its anniversary - 250 years since Catherine II acquired the first collection.

Why else should you go to the Hermitage

In the past, the Hermitage was an imperial museum. Not only works of art are interesting here, but also interiors. All buildings were built under the kings and amaze with their royal beauty. For example, the Winter Palace is a former winter imperial residence with halls for balls, receptions and living quarters. Therefore, in the Hermitage you will find marble, stucco, gilding, and crystal chandeliers. The Hermitage is luxury and elegance, a standard of taste and even design solutions for arranging a modern space. It is not surprising that many people, when going to the Hermitage, dress as if for a holiday, and some have a photo shoot (including a wedding) in the Hermitage.

Remember the status of the museum and do not come to the Hermitage in shorts and T-shirts. Take care of beauty! Girls and ladies, do not wear shoes with sharp heels, they will ruin the parquet made of valuable wood. Do not touch fine gilding, antique furniture, vases, or sculptures with your hands! Unfortunately, some exhibits are not protected in any way, and only careful treatment can preserve them. Large bags, backpacks and suitcases will have to be checked into the cloakroom. You can’t eat or drink in the halls, so as not to crumble or spill liquid on the floor, and you won’t even be able to bring a bottle of water into the museum, since bags are see-through at the entrance.

How to get to the Hermitage

The nearest metro stations are Nevsky Prospekt, Gostiny Dvor (at this station it is better to get to the Griboyedov Canal) and Admiralteyskaya. From the metro stations Gostiny Dvor and Nevsky Prospekt you will get to Nevsky Prospekt itself; you need to go to the Neva in the direction of decreasing house numbers. To explain it more simply, then move towards the Admiralty spire, here it is in the photograph (in the perspective of Nevsky Prospekt).

The Winter Palace is located to the right of the Admiralty, however, you will see it anyway.

Admiralteyskaya is also easy: when exiting the metro, turn first left, then right and exit onto Nevsky. Further - towards the spire. Of all three stations, Admiralteyskaya is the closest to the Hermitage.

From Palace Square, enter the courtyard of the Winter Palace through the central arches decorated with openwork gates. There you will find all the necessary information about prices and excursions on stands and electronic displays. Cash desks inside.

Hermitage address: Palace Embankment, 38 / Palace Square, 2;
telephone: +7 812 710 90 79

When is the best time to visit the Hermitage?

The museum is closed on Monday. On Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday the Hermitage is open from 10.30 to 18.00 (box office until 17.00), on Wednesday and Friday from 10.30 to 21.00 (box office until 20.00). From January 1, 2019, every third Thursday of the month is a free visit (previously it was the first Thursday of the month), but keep in mind that the queue on this day is longer than at the Mausoleum. There are fewer visitors on weekdays than on weekends. The Hermitage is most crowded during school holidays, when groups from different parts of Russia come to the museum one after another. Peak attendance: a) in summer, b) after 12 am. In the summer, foreigners join the Russian population, including from huge cruise ships. During this busy season, there is a queue to enter the museum, and in some halls there is nowhere to fall - especially in the Leonardo Hall and the Rembrandt Hall.

But there are rooms where there is silence and solitude even on such days. The line moves faster in nice warm weather when people are not using the cloakroom. In bad weather, wardrobe space quickly runs out. At four o'clock the flow of foreign tourists subsides, the queue melts, and the museum is empty. You can choose these evening hours or before 12 am for your visit. You can also come fifteen minutes before the museum opens and stand in a line of like-minded people, which will go by very quickly. By the way, a certain woman has been walking along the line for many years and offering dubious “tickets for skipping the line.” These may be free pension cards or others, but she asks for a tidy sum to pay for them. The police regularly take this lady out of the museum territory, but she appears again. Don't support this black business that is like a weed taking root in a flower garden! Overcome all obstacles on the path to beauty!

Another tip: Bring your ID with you, just in case. It’s clear that you most likely carry it with you all the time, but you never know. The fact is that the cashier will ask you to present it when purchasing a ticket (preferential prices are established for citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus).

A full ticket in 2019 costs 700 rubles, for citizens of Russia and Belarus - 400 rubles, schoolchildren, students, cadets, veterans, military personnel, pensioners and some other categories have access to paintings and other objects of art for free. A little trick: if you don’t want to stand in line and are willing to pay an extra two hundred rubles for it, purchase tickets on the Hermitage website (680 rubles), as well as at the self-service terminals, which are located in the courtyard on the right immediately after entering it from Palace Square . You buy a ticket at the terminal and go past the entire long queue to the Winter Palace. In addition, tickets to the Winter Palace can also be bought at the General Staff Building (directly across the square) and at the official Hermitage Hotel on Pravdy Street, 10. We, however, have not yet checked whether tickets are sold only to hotel guests or to everyone , but if you want, you can try your luck.

If you don't want to stand in a long line, we recommend that you buy your tickets online. With them you go straight to the museum without queuing! This can save you a couple of hours, especially during high season, holidays or weekends. To purchase, click on the banner below:

What to see in the Hermitage?

Certainly, Winter Palace, its white marble staircase (pictured above) and the state rooms leading to the Throne, portraits of the brave generals who fought Napoleon in the Gallery of 1812 (pictured below).

Picture gallery, which represents all European schools and times from the late Middle Ages to the 20th century. The Hermitage has paintings by da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, El Greco, Rembrandt, Rubens and many other famous masters.

The French collection stands apart "From Monet to Picasso". It was collected not by tsars, but by Moscow industrialists Shchukin and Morozov. And only in the 1930s these private collections were divided between the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin in Moscow and thus saved from sale or destruction during the difficult Stalinist years. Paintings by Edouard Monet, Renoir, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse and Picasso are the real pride of the Hermitage. You can see them on the third floor of the Winter Palace. And it's worth hurrying. Soon, to get to know them, you will need an additional ticket to the General Staff building, where they are planning to transport the entire collection of French objects from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

There is another exhibition with works by the same artists brought by the Soviet army from Germany at the end of the Great Patriotic War. It is located on the second floor of the Winter Palace at the end of the Ministerial Corridor and is called "Unknown masterpieces".

And of course Knight's Hall. There you will find swords, shields, armor, plumed helmets, crossbows, pistols and arquebuses. Almost all 15-16 centuries. This room is at the farthest end of the museum from the entrance of the New Hermitage building.

If you want to get away from the main tourist route, you can hide from the crowd in halls of ancient art on the first floor of the New Hermitage. Marble statues of Greek gods and Roman emperors stand silently there, painted ceramics preserve the aroma of ancient wines, oils and perfumes.

Or in the halls Primitive culture on the first floor of the Winter Palace. Do you know what Pazyryk and Arzhan are? These are the names of ancient mounds in which wonderful things were found. Having been here, you will be able to show off your rare knowledge to your friends. You will be amazed by the mummy of a tattooed leader and the world's largest felt carpet from the 1st millennium BC. e., in which the mustachioed “jigit” (tribal leader) appears before the great ancient goddess. Lovers East awaits the third floor of the Winter Palace - halls of China, Japan, India, Iran. Ancient Egypt with sarcophagi and bizarre figures of gods next to the cafe on the 1st floor of the Winter Palace.

If you are interested in gold from tombs and personal jewelry of the Romanovs, you are welcome to Golden Pantry And Diamond Pantry Jewelry galleries. Special tickets can be purchased at the box office; there is also a schedule of excursions.

All Russian rulers from Catherine II to Nicholas II lived in the Winter Palace. But not everyone knows that there is an unusual exhibition in the Hermitage "Winter Palace of Peter the Great". It is located in the building of the Hermitage Theater (entrance from the Neva, Palace Embankment, 32), the ticket office is there. It turns out that the cellars of Peter's palace, fragments of walls, part of the courtyard have been preserved, and Peter's personal chambers have been recreated - the Turner, the Study and the Dining Room. Peter's original personal belongings were used to create the exhibition. In one of the rooms there is the famous Wax Persona by Rastrelli the Elder, which conveys the true appearance of Peter the Great.

Which of these can be photographed?

In the Hermitage you can photograph everything except mummies, temporary exhibitions and jewelry (for example, in the Jewelry Gallery). Remember to turn off the flash in rooms with paintings, fabrics and carpets. If you are having a professional photo shoot, then a ticket giving you the right to do this costs 5,000 rubles.

What you will NOT see in the Hermitage. Or the most common misconceptions

"Mona Lisa". This painting by Leonardo da Vinci is in the Louvre in Paris.

Amber room. It is located in a country summer residence - in the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo.

An imperial bedroom with a bed! The furnishings of the living rooms have not been preserved. There is no bed in the Blue Bedroom; temporary exhibitions are held there.

Imperial crown. She is in Moscow along with the scepter and the orb.

Faberge eggs. They are not represented in the Hermitage collection.

A carriage. Once upon a time the gilded carriage stood in the Field Marshal's Hall, but now all the carriages and carriages are in the Hermitage Repository.

Salvador Dali.

If you like to be told

You can take an audio guide for 350 rubles (you need to leave a deposit of 2000 rubles or any identification document other than a passport) and with it you can freely walk along the route of your choice. You can buy at the box office not only an entrance ticket, but also a ticket for a sightseeing tour and listen to it as part of a group. You can book an individual excursion at the Excursion Bureau under the arch of the Winter Palace (phone number 571-84-46). There, in September, you can buy a subscription to a series of themed classes, and you won’t have to stand in line to enter the museum. Excursions purchased not from the bureau, but from strangers or on third-party sites, may have arbitrary content and present fiction as truth; the Hermitage is not responsible for their quality.

The Hermitage is not only...

Not only the five buildings in question are part of the museum. The Hermitage belongs to the eastern wing of the General Staff building; it is located directly opposite the Winter Palace across Palace Square (see photo).

There are temporary exhibitions, lectures and a permanent exhibition will open soon. A branch of the Hermitage is the Menshikov Palace. It is located on the opposite bank of the Neva, on Vasilyevsky Island, Universitetskaya embankment, 15. The Hermitage opened the Porcelain Museum at the Imperial Porcelain Factory, Art. Lomonosovskaya metro station. And the Old Village Restoration and Storage Center recently opened to the public. This is a modern complex that introduces the museum’s funds and the conditions for their storage. There you can see collections of paintings, frescoes, furniture, applied art, tents and tents, carriages and carriages. Address: Zausadebnaya street, 37 “A”, Staraya Derevnya metro station. A visit is only possible with a guided tour: Wednesday – Sunday at sessions: 11.00, 13.00, 13.30, 15.30. For available places in groups, please call +7 812 340 10 26. A ticket with an excursion costs 550 rubles in 2019. Free admission - December 7 and the first Thursday of every month. Please note: free entry only applies to the entrance ticket (which is 250 rubles), you still pay for the excursion (300 rubles).

Tickets to the Hermitage

The entrance ticket in 2019 costs 700 rubles (electronic 680), for citizens of Russia and Belarus upon presentation of a passport - 400 rubles, sightseeing tour in a group - 250 per person, excursion to the Jewelry Gallery - 300, entrance ticket to Peter's Palace, Menshikov Palace, Porcelain Museum, General Staff - 300 rubles, RHC "Old Village" - 550 rubles (with excursion).

Preschoolers, schoolchildren, students, pensioners (Russian citizens) and the traditional group of beneficiaries have free access to the museum. Free entry to the museum for everyone on the third Thursday of every month.

Where to eat when visiting the Hermitage

The Hermitage cafe is not the cheapest in the city, but matches the prices on Nevsky Prospekt. There is no serious hot food there. Only coffee, tea, drinks, sandwiches, pies and cakes. Strengthening your physical strength can be combined with access to the Internet if your gadgets do not have such a built-in ability.

Souvenirs from the Hermitage

Bags, wallets, pillows, umbrellas, tapestries, porcelain, ceramics, jewelry, silk scarves, reproductions, albums, children's art books and even furniture made of precious wood are things that can become memorable. You won’t be able to buy the Mona Lisa, see why above. They didn’t ask about Rembrandt and others.

By the way, an interesting fact: the Hermitage gift shop does not sell nesting dolls - the director of the museum, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, strictly prohibited it.

For cat lovers

Behind the gate located on the right side of the Winter Palace (if you are facing it) there is a well-known road sign with an image of a cat.

This is not a joke, but a real warning. The museum's holdings are protected from rats by a special team of felines. They are not allowed into the halls of the museum, but sometimes, of course, they sneak in. A couple of times, representatives of the editorial staff of the Window to St. Petersburg website saw them at the box office. Look on the Internet for materials on the request “cats of the Hermitage”, it’s worth it. Sometimes, by the way, the Hermitage gives away kittens. We had material about this, read.