State Hermitage Museum (Gosudarstvenny Ermitazh) Guide

The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is one of the largest museums in the world, housing over three million works of art and tracing the development of culture from prehistoric times to the present day. Highlights include Italian Renaissance art, in particular works by Michelangelo and Raphael, Flemish and Dutch painting, French Impressionist painting, and collections of Russian and Oriental art. The foundation of the collection stems from a purchase, in 1764 by Catherine the Great, of a considerable group of Western European paintings. First opened to the public in 1852, the State Hermitage Museum has belonged to the Russian people since the October Revolution in 1917; one of the five buildings in which it is housed is the magnificent Winter Palace, the former residence of the Russian Tsars.
Air: Pulkovo II International Airport (St Petersburg). Rail: Train: Moscow Station. Tram: Ermitazh. Underground: Nevskiy Prospect or Gostiny Dvor. Road: Bus: Public services. Car: M10 (from Moscow or Helsinki, Finland); M11 (from Berlin, Germany via Poland).

Gosudarstvenny Ermitazh, Dvortzovaya nab. 34, St Petersburg 191186, Russian Federation
Tel: (0812) 110 9625 (recorded information) or 311 3420 (central information desk)
Website: www.hermitagemuseum.org

Ministerstvo Turisma (Ministry of Tourism)
18 ul. Kazakova, 103064 Moscow, Russian Federation
Tel: (095) 202 7117 or 202 3891. Fax: (095) 263 0761.
Russian National Tourist Office
70 Piccadilly, London W1J 8HP, UK
Tel: (020) 7495 7555. Fax: (020) 7495 8555.

Russian Federation