Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

On our second day in St. Petersburg, Gail and John each escorted a separate group for a three and a half hour tour of the Hermitage Museum.  Crossing through the immigration police was a breeze today ... a quick glance at the passport and off we went.  I wonder, did someone in authority have a talk with the immigration staff?

After a 20 minute bus trip we arrived at our destination.  First of all, a little background for you. The Hermitage Museum is the second largest gallery of art in the world, after the Louvre in Paris.  The Hermitage is a huge complex of five buildings, of which the Winter Palace (the home of Russian Emperors from 1763 to 1917) is one. The Hermitage, as an art gallery, was started by Catherine II from 1764 to 1775 when she traveled all over Europe to purchase art for her new museum.  This tradition continued with her heirs.  While a fire gutted the main building in 1837, much of the original structure was restored. 

Getting ready to escort the Hermitage tour

One of the Hermitage buildings, the Winter Palace

The Grand staircase

 

Upon entry, one is overwhelmed by the incredible architecture, gold and glitter, and sheer size of the place.  The grand staircase is awesome in size and grandeur. The art collection, of which we only saw a small part in the three hours plus that we were there, is diverse and covers the period from medieval times to Picasso and beyond. The Hermitage has in its possession over three million pieces of art, sculpture and so on. It is estimated that if you spent as little as one minute observing each piece of art in the collection, it would take you up to eleven years to see the whole thing. Thus, only a small part of the collection is on display at any one time.  What there is to see on display is amazing.

A typical room

The `Hanging`garden, which is outside the second floor

No place is left undecorated, even the ceiling

 

When you see the overwhelming opulence in the Hermitage and the rest of St. Petersburg as well, and knowing how many serfs were starving at that time in Russia, it is little wonder that the populace eventually revolted. Nevertheless, we hope to explore more when we return next week.