Hermitage Masterpieces

Learn how this palace of emperors became home to one of the world's largest collections of art and why Monet and Matisse now hang in the glorious rooms where murder and mayhem were once daily fare.

Russia's fascination with world art and culture is represented by nearly three million exhibits, collected over 400 years at the Hermitage. From Catherine the Great's original assemblage of paintings to the additions of the rulers and curators that followed, the Hermitage is rivaled only by the Louvre in Paris and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Experience the life and times of Peter the Great, the charismatic ruler who built St. Petersburg for his beloved Russia as a "window to the West." Though he did not live to see the completion of the Hermitage Palaces, they successfully fulfill Peter's visions of grandeur.

Witness the stunning collection of historic furnishing, fabulous tapestries, colorful pottery, fine porcelain and luxurious silver that once graced the palaces of kings and the homes of the wealthy across Europe and Russia.

Strange and wonderful artworks illustration the origins of modern civilization's ideals, dreams, and beliefs still intrigue us today, and the Hermitage collection of these ancient artifacts is extraordinary.

The vast and fabulous art collection of the Hermitage is a monument to Russian appreciation of work culture. Rediscover the civilization of ancient Egypt as it is represented by Catherine the Great's own acquisition of relics.