It was one of the best experiences of my life, traveling along all the stops in the Baltic Sea. From Amsterdam to Copenhagen, Stockholm to Tallinn, and on. But my favorite spot was St. Petersburg, Russia. What a glorious city, even though it was (and is) held tightly under Putin’s rule.
I will never forget one of the gems in that place, The Hermitage Museum. It was grand in every way, even though I was nearly arrested getting in the place. But once we finally had the chance to explore, I was taken aback, again and again.
It is the second-largest art museum in the world and was founded in 1764. All of this because Empress Catherine the Great had incredible vision. She acquired an incredible collection of paintings and statues from a Berlin merchant named Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky.
The name of the museum itself has an interesting story. The word “Hermitage” comes from the French “hermit,” and it translates to “people who live alone”. When The Hermitage was constructed, it was extremely “exclusive.” It was an official residence of Russian Tsars, and for almost 100 years, it was not open to the public. So, at that time in history, very few people were allowed to enter that grand building. This exclusiveness set down the museum’s name for years to come.
It sits in the same complex as the Winter Palace, and the two, side-by-side, are truly breathtaking. Our Russian guide got us into the Winter Palace quite early one morning, before the crowds, so we had a private tour to explore the better part of the palace. We were about five minutes ahead of the masses. Our guide’s name was Helen. She paid off a lot of people with bottles of Vodka. I will never forget her.
Anyway, the Hermitage. As mentioned, this place exists because of Catharine the Great. It is her birthday today, by the way, coming into this world on April 21, 1729. She was the most prominent and the longest-ruling female leader of Russia. She sat on the throne from 1762 until 1796. Her reign is known as Russia’s Golden Age. It was because of her that Russia was revitalized, leading it to grow larger and stronger than it had ever been before. Under her guidance, Russia became one of the great powers of Europe.
I should add that it is also England’s Queen Elizabeth II birthday today, her birth year being 1926. A couple of good, strong Taurus women.
Okay, the Hermitage. I said it was the second-largest in the world, and I meant it. The museum consists of 5 interconnected buildings. The size inside is 719,480 square feet. If you walked to each exhibit, that would add up to around 15 miles of wear and tear on your Chuck Taylors.
Those exhibits add up to over 3 million art pieces, which means that we could have stayed there for nearly six years, spending one minute by each piece of artwork. Plus, there are all those stairs — 117 staircases in the Hermitage and more than 18,800 doors.
And if you are lucky, you’ll see a cat. This started with the Royal Family. Cats were first brought to the Winter Palace by order of Elizabeth I, the daughter of Peter the Great. She wanted to get rid of mice and rats that scurried through those palace walls. It worked. And since the method proved to be effective, those cats’ roles became even more critical when the palace was filled with artwork. Job security. These days, 50 to 70 cats are living full time on the territory of the museum today — and working on that mouse problem.
Among all of this, Catharine’s life is extraordinary. She came to power following a coup d’état that overthrew her husband and second cousin, Peter III. She was kicking butt and taking names, I suppose. Regardless, I am glad for her and the museum she created. It was an experience I will never forget.
Oh, and the largest? The Louvre. The National Museum of China is third, and The Met is fourth.
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“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
― Leonardo da Vinci
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“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
― Pablo Picasso
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“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science.”
― Albert Einstein, The World As I See It
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The second largest piece of arty wonder
