The State Hermitage_ Russia's Amazing Museum

The State Hermitage_ Russia's Amazing Museum

Introduction Welcome to the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. My name is Pavel. Let me show you my home-the greatest museum in the world. It has a rich history, more than three million works of art, and has survived many disasters. All of these characteristics make my home great, but just you wait and see.

Do You Know? The Hermitage can't display all three million works of art in its collection at the same time. Many are in storage. The museum is open for about eight hours each day and is closed for many holidays. If you spent only two minutes looking at each work of art during museum hours, it would take you more than forty-three years to see the entire collection.

Word Wise Hermitage (noun) a French word meaning " place of seclusion" History of the Museum From 1762 to 1796, Catherine the Great was Russia's empress, which is like a queen. My great grandmother's grandmother knew Catherine well. They lived in the Winter Palace together. The Winter Palace is the largest building of the seven that make up the Hermitage today.

Quotable Quote No one was allowed to see Catherine's collection during her reign. She once said, " Only the mice and I can admire all this. " Mice have been a big problem for the Hermitage for hundreds of years. Cats were brought in to patrol the palace to keep mice from destroying the collections. About fifty cats still patrol the Hermitage. The Hermitage began as the art collection of Catherine the Great. Catherine began her collection by buying paintings. In 1764, she bought 225 paintings by Dutch and Flemish masters. Like most collectors, Catherine continued to expand her collection over the years. Several of the paintings she collected were by famous artists, including Rembrandt and Rubens. You can still see some of these paintings at the Hermitage.

For more than 200 years, the collection has grown from those first paintings purchased by Catherine. It has become one of the world's largest and most impressive collections of art. It includes not only paintings but also coins and medals, gold treasures, gemstones, books, armor, sculptures, furniture, and more. It makes my collection of shiny objects seem very small. But I am just beginning my collection. Come with me as I show you a few pieces in the Hermitage's collection.