The Hermitage.

One of the most famous museums in the world. It lined kilometer queue, regardless of the weather outside. It has many branches, its own theatre, orchestra and unusual cats.

Huge in our days the collection, which is in many halls of different buildings that once began with the personal collection of paintings to Catherine the great.

In 1764 she got him in debt Johann gotzkowsky Russian Prince Vladimir Dolgoruky. The collection included more than three hundred paintings brought from Berlin. The total cost of the paintings varies between one hundred and eighty thousand German Thaler of the eighteenth century. Thus, the history of the Hermitage began with the works Baburen, van Dyck, Balena, Rembrandt, Rubens, Jordaens and other Flemish and Dutch painters. From the original list of paintings today safely left ninety-six masterpieces.

The original premise for the collection was given in the halls of the Winter Palace. Later a building was constructed, which is today known as the Small Hermitage. But in the process of the Museum's Catherine the Great followed the increase in the number of exhibits. Gradually the place began not to suffice, and for sixteen years was built by Felten Big (or Old) Hermitage.

In the nineteenth century case of Empress Catherine the great continued with Alexander I and Nicholas I. They have purchased not just a whole collection of different noble Europeans, and complements the collection of eras, styles and individual artists. So you purchased the "lute player" by Caravaggio and "the adoration of the Magi" by Botticelli.

A significant figure in the history of art of the second half of the nineteenth century was Andrei Somov, who was the caretaker of the Museum for twenty-two years. He made several catalogues of the works of Italian and Spanish art, which was exhibited in the Hermitage. The situation changed dramatically after the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne and the coming to power of the Bolsheviks.

The turning point was the sale of masterpieces in five years (1929 to 1934). This was an unexpected blow to the collection. During this time more than forty paintings lost Hermitage.

Buildings
In Saint-Petersburg the state Hermitage Museum are integral architectural composition. It includes five main facilities, two service and four separate spaces. The basis of the ensemble are built on Palace square in the Northern capital. Here are the Winter Palace, Small, Big and New Hermitage, and Hermitage theatre.

Most of the items are exhibited in three special buildings – Big, Small and New Hermitage. The first was built by Felten in the late eighteenth century. It is located on the waterfront and was designed for displaying art collections. The small Hermitage consists of a Hanging garden, and two pavilions – southern and Northern. He erected a little earlier Great and is the link between the classical Hermitage and the Winter Palace in the Baroque style. The new Hermitage was built in the Greek revival. It was created specifically to accommodate the art collection "for public inspection".