Palace Square in Saint Petersburg, from an open window in the Hermitage
by Walter Smith, used under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0
The State Hermitage Museum is the largest museum in the world. It is also one of the largest and oldest art galleries and museums of human history and culture in the world.
The State Hermitage Museum occupies six magnificent buildings along the embankment of the River Neva. The State Hermitage Museum was founded by Catherine the Great in 1764, and was given the name by her, because only a select few had a chance to view her collection. She once mentioned in a letter that "only the mice and I can admire all this." Not so anymore. Now visitors from all parts of the world get to admire the collection. The State Hermitage Museum has even expanded by planting branches in Amsterdam (Hermitage on the Amstel), London (Hermitage Room at Somerset House) and Las Vegas (Guggenheim Hermitage Museum, in collaboration with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation).
Among the collect of the State Hermitage Museum are works by Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rubens, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Poussin, Rodin, Monet, Pissarro, Renoir, Cezanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso and Matisse. Also on display are the Russian imperial regalia, Fabergé jewellery and the largest existing collection of ancient gold from Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
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