The State Hermitage — 3 Million Masterpieces Inside the Winter Palace

At a Glance

The State Hermitage Museum on Palace Square in St. Petersburg is one of the world's largest art museums. Five connected buildings—anchored by the Winter Palace—hold around three million items spanning prehistoric artefacts to 20th-century masterpieces. It is routinely grouped with the Louvre and the British Museum among the "big three."

From a Private Collection to a State Museum

The collection began in 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased 225 Flemish and Dutch paintings from Berlin merchant Johann Gotzkowsky. She called the private gallery her "hermitage" after the French word for a secluded retreat. In 1852 Nicholas I opened the galleries to the public, and after the 1917 Revolution the palaces and their holdings were nationalised. Bartolomeo Rastrelli's 1754–62 Winter Palace, a Rococo landmark in its own right, is worth the trip even without the art inside.

Must-See Works

• Leonardo da Vinci — Benois Madonna & Madonna Litta — two of the fifteen or so surviving Leonardos, hung in one room.
• Raphael — Conestabile Madonna — a tondo from Raphael's early Urbino years.
• Rembrandt — The Return of the Prodigal Son — his late masterpiece on light and forgiveness.
• Caravaggio — The Lute Player — the textbook example of tenebrism.
• Matisse — Dance & Music — the monumental Shchukin commissions that re-wired 20th-century color.
• Impressionist & Post-Impressionist halls in the General Staff Building across the square — Monet, Cézanne, Gauguin, Picasso.

Visiting Tips

Over 400 galleries make a complete tour impossible in a day. Plan around three anchors—Leonardo, Rembrandt, Matisse—then add Ancient Egypt, Greece, and the Scythian Gold rooms. The Jordan Staircase, Malachite Room, and Peacock Clock are as much a draw as the art. Cross over to the General Staff Building with the same ticket for the Impressionists—it's on the other side of Palace Square and often quieter.