"Night" at the Museum

The State Hermitage Museum housed in the Winter Palace

I have now been to the Hermitage twice. Both explorations were completely different and completely wonderful.

The State Hermitage Museum is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world.  It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great as a private collection. Since 1852, the museum has been open to the public. Catherine the Great had the original Hermitage added on to the Winter Palace along the banks of the Neva River in Saint Petersburg. Today, the Hermitage is located in its original branch of the palace, but has overtaken the entire palace to display only a portion of its priceless exhibits. The Hermitage's website claims a collection of over three million works of art and artifacts.

The Throne Room, viewed over the heads of many tour groups

My first visit to the Hermitage was during my first week in Russia. We were given a guided tour, in English thankfully, through the palace interiors and a portion of the Italian and French art exhibits. I stood in the throne room and the ballroom. I saw a gigantic gold clock with an owl, a peacock, and a rooster that one of Catherine the Great's favorites gave to her. I walked in rooms where the royal family spent their days. I saw waiting rooms and dressing rooms. I saw the little door in the wall that led to the room where Catherine the Great died. As a fan of imperial history, I was taking in as much as possible.

After the palace interiors, which I found to be my favorite of the day, we moved on to art collections. After going to several art museums in Saint Petersburg, I have discovered that I am really not an art person. I can appreciate aspects of the art, but it is just not my thing. I did, however, see my first da Vinci and Michelangelo. So that in itself is a cultural achievement in my life.

The Hermitage is huge: three floors, hundreds of rooms, and millions of things to see. People claim that you can spend a week in the museum and still not see everything. With that said, of course I needed a second gander!

Palace Interiors

On Wednesdays, instead of closing at 5:00, the museum is open until 9:00. Can you say score? Although we only had an hour and half to explore the museum, it was an incredible experience. Tourist groups were not clogging the rooms and you could freely go wherever you wanted. I could stand and gaze at a tapestry for five minutes or skip to the paintings that actually interested me. We started by viewing the "France: 19th - 20th Centuries" exhibit. I saw Renoirs and van Goghs, although Monet was my favorite. I actually appreciated some of the paintings, and I could view the art long enough to pick a favorite. It was very pleasant to wander the quiet halls that the Romanov family once waltzed in and ran through.

Our final stop was the Siberian Antiquities exhibit. It took us a while to find the exhibit, because the main route was under construction. But we had the opportunity to see other collections while finding the one we wanted. To get there, we walked down the staircase that the Bolsheviks ran up while storming the Winter Palace during the October Revolution of 1917. So much history!

Palace Interiors

Twenty minutes before closing, we found the exhibit. We met several antsy volunteers who just wanted to leave, but no one was stopping us from getting there. The Siberian exhibit was pretty amazing. The first thing I saw were death masks from the 4th-3rd century BC still attached to the skulls. Then, there was a horse saddle from the same time period, with the horse underneath it. There were so many old cloths and tools, it is a wonder how all of it survived. But the gem of the exhibit is the mummy we got to view. In a glass case, for everyone to see, is a Siberian mummy. It is all there, and if my Russian skills were a little more advanced I could explain how the body was able to be so well preserved for thousands of centuries. Although a little disgusting at times, the exhibit was really cool and something I never would have thought existed in the Hermitage.

It was just about closing time, so we thought it best to find the exit. We made our way back to the area one of the ladies originally told us was the exit. Well, we ran into another lady and she pointed us in a different direction, so off we went. One plus was that with our new path, we got to see more stuff! However, we ran into some other ladies, including the original one who gave us directions. They were closing up one of the corridors, so one of the nice ladies personally escorted us to the main entrance hall of the Hermitage. We briskly walked through a back area, Russian ladies were jabbering at us, and the lights were going off. It might not seem that way, but it was a really cool and odd experience. It was a crazy five minutes getting out of the building, but it was the icing on the cake.

In one night, I went from 18th century French art to really old mummies, all in one place. I stood where the tsars held balls and had family hour. The Hermitage is truly amazing. The palace is elegant and extravagant and exquisite, a dream come true for me. It is an absolute must-see while in Saint Petersburg.

Main Staircase of the Hermitage - where all the tours begin