The State Hermitage occupies six magnificent buildings situated along the embankment of the River Neva, right in the heart of St Petersburg. The leading role in this unique architectural ensemble is played by the Winter Palace, the residence of the Russian tsars that was built to the design of Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754-62. This ensemble, formed in the 18th and 19th centuries, is extended by the eastern wing of the General Staff building, the Menshikov Palace and the recently constructed Repository.

Put together throughout two centuries and a half, the Hermitage collections of works of art (over 3,000,000 items) present the development of the world culture and art from the Stone Age to the 20th century. Today the Museum is creating its digital self-portrait to be displayed around the world. Computer technologies enable the State Hermitage Museum to provide people from all over the world with wider access to information about the Museum and its treasures.

"...You are not the northern lights, you are the most bright star of the North, and there never has been any other luminary so beneficial" - this was the characteristic given by Voltaire to Catherine the Great. Her personality illuminated the epoch that got in history the name of the "Magnificent Age". In the reign of Catherine II the grandeur palace ensemble that became the official residence and the storehouse of the art treasures and also private appartments of the Russian Empress was erected.   On 7 February 1852 in the building of the New Hermitage the first Russian public museum was open for the visitors. The tradition of collecting works of art led down in Catherine's time becomes a part of the state policy. 19th century brings changes in the life of the royal residence. Interiors of the palace ensemble get renewed according to the new tastes. Official and private life of the members of the royal family is connected with the walls of the palace, as well as the last page of the reign of the Romanov's dynasty.