ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA - JANUARY 25, 2015:State Hermitage is museum of art and culture. One of oldest museums in world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine Great:
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Great (Old) Hermitage

St Petersburg


Facing the Neva, this section of the museum (also known as the Large Hermitage) dates from the time of Catherine the Great. It mainly houses Italian Rennaissance art including works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian, Botticelli, Caravaggio and Tiepolo.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby St Petersburg attractions

1. State Hermitage Museum

0.03 MILES

The Hermitage fully lives up to its sterling reputation. You can be absorbed by its treasures for days and still come out wanting more. The enormous…

2. New Hermitage

0.06 MILES

Facing Millionnaya ul, the New Hermitage was built for Nicholas II in 1852, to hold the growing art collection and as a museum for the public. Designed by…

3. Small Hermitage

0.06 MILES

The classical Small Hermitage, which evolved from a series of buildings constructed between Palace Sq and the Neva between 1764 and 1769, was used by…

4. Winter Palace of Peter I

0.08 MILES

Excavations beneath the Hermitage Theatre in the late 1970s revealed remains of the principal residence of Peter the Great, including a large fragment of…

5. Atlantes

0.09 MILES

Since 1848, the portico of the New Hermitage has been supported by 10 muscular giants cut from grey granite in the workshop of sculptor Alexander…

6. Winter Palace

0.15 MILES

This stunning mint-green, white and gold profusion of columns, windows and recesses, with its roof topped by rows of classical statues, was commissioned…

8. Treasure Gallery

0.18 MILES

For lovers of things that glitter and the applied arts, the Hermitage's Treasure Gallery should not be missed. Its two special collections, guarded behind…