The Golden Pantry is one of two exhibitions in the Treasure Gallery in the State Hermitage. It includes several collections of gold items from the 7th to the 19th centuries. Among them are the Siberian collection of Peter I, objects of Hellenic art, as well as creations of oriental masters.

Siberian collection of Peter I

The Golden Treasury includes several valuable collections, among which the central place is rightfully occupied by pieces collected by Peter I. They will be of particular interest to connoisseurs of jewelry art, as well as those who want to get acquainted with its history.

In the 18th century, by order of the Tsar, excavations began in Siberia. Their goal was to replenish the state treasury and study ancient history Russian lands. The subject of excavations were Tatar graves called mounds. The burials of noble persons were especially valuable. According to religious custom, a lot of gold and jewelry were placed in the grave of the tribal nobility.

The excavations were led by the governor of the Siberian region, Prince Matvey Gagarin. He was a confidant of Peter I and bought the best copies for him. But the prince turned out to be dishonest and was hanged.

Thanks to the insight of Peter I and his desire to study the history of his native lands, a decree was issued to stop the destruction and plunder of graves. This was the first prerequisite for the creation of laws on the protection of historical monuments. Since then, the sovereign personally bought back the found valuables.

All exhibits were sent to the Summer Palace. By 1714, the collection already included about 240 items. Especially for her, Tsar Peter opened the first museum in Russian history and called it the Kunstkamera, which translated meant “cabinet of curiosities.” Now the gallery is called the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography. Peter the Great Russian Academy Sci.

Even after the death of the king, the collection continued to be replenished by his followers. A century and a half later, in 1859, by order of Alexander II, the unique exhibits were moved to Winter Palace and were called the Siberian Collection of Peter I.

Features and symbolism of the exhibits

Among the specimens are jewelry, weapons, ceremonial equipment for horses and ritual equipment. Most of them are decorated with animal motifs. This is due to the religious beliefs of ancient tribes - the image of an animal’s head served as protection from evil forces. Also often encountered is the plot of a struggle between man and beast, symbolizing strength.

Submissions nomadic peoples about the world are also reflected on jewelry. Birds were a symbol of the upper heavenly part of the universe. People and animals (ungulates were most often depicted) were representatives of the average mortal world. Waterfowl and fish from the lower world reflected death and the birth of new life in one person. This is clearly visible in the scenes of the struggle between an animal and a predator - the middle and lower world.

Masters loved to decorate their creations with precious stones. Sometimes there are glass or coral inserts. Agate or carnelian were used less frequently.

Many finds served as objects for rituals and were guardians of the magical power in which the nomads believed. Today, with their help, we can have an idea of ​​the worldview and life of the ancient Scythians.

Jewelry art of Ancient Greece

In the golden storeroom you can see precious exhibits Ancient Greece. Its inhabitants were special admirers of gold, and endowed it magical power, capable of protecting its owners during life and after death. That is why all jewelry was buried with the deceased. The Hellenes did not know the limits in the number of decorations. Therefore, a law came into force to limit this addiction.

The Greeks were talented craftsmen and knew how to make the finest patterns from gold threads. They always used small parts. Most often on products there is a floral pattern in the form of interlacing leaves and flowers. The clothes of the ancient Greeks were also decorated with gold threads.

Women and men wore gold equally. In addition to jewelry, they used gold accessories. These were a variety of fans and wands. The imagination of Hellenic jewelers knew no bounds and was reflected in bizarre shapes and patterns.

Among women's jewelry, hair items were very popular. These were tiaras, stilettos and nets. For the wedding, the bride's head was decorated with a crown with a leafy pattern and an image of the goddess Nike.

Manufacturing technologies

Most products were forged from a single piece of metal. Stamps were used to give the desired shape. To achieve graceful lines and small parts carving or engraving methods were used. The chains were woven from thin wire.

To connect several large parts, diffusion soldering, popular at the time, was used, fusing parts together at high temperatures. The result was the characteristic graining revered by the Greeks. Hellenic jewelry art was influenced by many countries. This was reflected in the style of the products and their subjects.

Oriental collection of gold items

Lovers of oriental motifs will not leave indifferent the jewelry collection of the Ancient East. The diversity of peoples who inhabited the Middle East and Asia gave rise to a huge number of styles and technologies for making precious jewelry and household items. But they all have common features, inspired by the united Islamic religion.

As in European countries, in the East gold products were endowed with magical properties and decorated with stones. These were ruby, turquoise, coral and amber. The products were also decorated with colored enamel of red and blue. The first symbolized life, and the second - sky and water. Other colors were also popular - green, yellow and black.

The shape of the object was of particular importance. The circle represented the sun, the figure of the animal was a symbol of fertility. Many items were decorated with the image of an eye. This symbol was supposed to protect the owner from curses and evil eyes. “Hamsa” - a palm with a blue stone in the center - had the same property.

The bird in the East was considered a sacred creature and was equated with a deity. Her image was inseparably associated with fertility and power. The Iranian-Turkic peoples decorated household items and jewelry with the image of the bird woman Umai (mother goddess).

Middle Eastern countries used images of fish and celestial bodies. Famous symbol Islam - a crescent with a star, came from paganism. It belonged to the goddess Hecate and symbolized fertility.

Decoration of decorations different nations differed in some ways. Characteristic for North Africa large size and clear geometric shape. Moroccan masters, on the contrary, sought to create bizarre figures and patterns. In the Maghreb, filigree, inlay and coloring with colored enamel were widely used. Egypt was famous for its worship of the sun, the symbol of which was present on most products.

Visitors to the Golden Pantry will discover the secrets of jewelry art that dates back to ancient times. Get ready to appreciate the creations of ancient masters who invested magical power in every detail of their work.

Personal Tours company offers you various individual excursions around St. Petersburg (sightseeing tours, walking tours) and its suburbs (Peterhof, Pushkin, Gatchina, etc.).

All our excursions begin and end at a location convenient for guests.

When conducting an individual excursion, it is important for the guide to understand what is interesting to you and what to focus on in the excursion, and what is better to omit. It is important for the guide to convey to guests not just formal information about the sights and cultural places of the city, but to tell unusual facts or stories related to them.

Reviews

Gratitude

Thank you for the perfectly organized and conducted tour of St. Petersburg and its suburbs for our business partners from China on November 22, 2019.
We especially thank Elena Karpova and guide Ksenia Kitaeva. The guests were very positively impressed by the excursion and were very grateful. Your company is our further strategic partner. Thank you very much. Sincerely. Boris

Panfilov Boris Romanovich

Everything went great, the guests stayed

Everything went great, the guests were very happy and full! We learned a lot and enjoyed the beauty of St. Petersburg. Even our director, a native Petersburger, discovered something new for himself.
Many thanks to Personal Tours! We will keep you in mind for the future!

We would like to express our gratitude to the Personal Tours agency

We would like to express our gratitude to the Personal Tours agency for brilliantly conducted individual excursions in St. Petersburg and Moscow for our superiors from America. Everything was on time, everything was done efficiently and without any hiccups. Even a hurricane in St. Petersburg did not stop our guest from New York from enjoying the splendor of St. Petersburg. Separately, we would like to note the professionalism of the guide Nikolay (St. Petersburg) and Ivan (Moscow).

Svetlana

Thanks a lot

Svetochka, thank you so much for such a quick organization of excursions to the sights of St. Petersburg, we learned a lot about the history of the Russian State and the beautiful city on the Neva of St. Petersburg.
All the guides (Mikhail Plotnikov, Nikolai Pavlov and Olga Shcherbatykh) did a great job!
Thanks a lot! We will contact you only on our next trip!

Everything was just great!

Svetlana and the Personaltours company!
Everything was just great! We are delighted!
The weather didn't disappoint either. Many thanks to the guide Olga and driver Andrey.
Thanks to you, the organization was perfect.
Thank you!

There are plenty of companies on the market providing various services, including in the field of individual tourism. Sometimes the choice is a separate problem: how to find what you need, not overpay, and get quality services? Everyone has different selection criteria. I have a feminine, intuitive approach, which has not failed so far. Didn't disappoint this time either

We thank PersonalTours for the wonderful

We thank PersonalTours for a wonderful excursion to Peterhof for our friends from Italy! Victoria speaks excellent Italian, quickly found contact with our entire group, made the excursion interesting and took into account all our wishes! At the same time, she spoke in Russian for part of the group and in Italian for our guests, so everyone was able to get as much information as possible and had a great time!

Victoria

Thank you very much for everything

Thank you so much for everything... From the very first minute to the last everything was just wonderful. Elena gave an excellent tour in English and Alexander the driver is a master of his craft. We were lucky with the weather, which also affected general impression. We were with a 5 year old child, but Elena was tactful and patient... I definitely recommend your agency as reliable and

We sincerely thank you and the entire Personal Tours team

We sincerely thank you and the entire Personal Tours team for organizing an excellent excursion program both in Moscow (Anna) and in St. Petersburg (Olesya) for our top manager Tonyes Cerovski and his wife from May 22 to May 26, 2019.
The guests were very pleased with both the excursion program itself and the guides, their professionalism and knowledge

Elena Ruskevich

Reward

Hallo; soeben aus St. Petersburg wieder in der Heimat. Wir hatten ein 4 Tagesprogramm mit diversen Sehenswürdigkeiten gebucht. Unser Guide war Julia. Wir können diese Tour nur empfehlen. Alles hat super geklappt und die Führung war professionell- etwas vom besten was wir bis anhin erleben durften! Wir können den Anbieter nur weiterempfehlen!

Family Bellwald

Thanks a lot!!!

Many thanks to Natalya Bazhenova and Personal Tours for the perfectly organized excursions. We really liked everything! The information presented was easy to understand, it was very interesting to listen and receive answers to the questions asked. Natalya and I went on a sightseeing tour of the city, to Kronstadt and Tsarskoe Selo. 2 days flew by intensely and unnoticed. Also, on her recommendation, we visited the museum

Gratitude

High level of service.

I would like to thank the team of Personal Tours for organizing the tour at a high organizational level. Everything was fast, interesting and eventful. Special thanks to the guide Alena for the excellent presentation of the material.
Thank you.

Alexander

Gratitude

Anastasia Belyakova

We express our gratitude to PersonalTours

Communication agency "Kontakto" expresses gratitude to PersonalTours and personally to Karina Demacheva for the successful experience of cooperation over several years and the implementation of excursion programs at a high level professional level.
We value PersonalTours for its responsibility, ability to instantly respond to the slightest changes and individual approach to solving complex problems, which deserves the highest praise.
We hope it's a positive experience,

Andreeva Yana

We cannot help but express our admiration

We cannot help but express our admiration for the professionalism of the guide Natalia Bazhenova. 3 hours of an individual tour of the Hermitage for our 8.5-year-old son - an adapted presentation of the material with a twist in the form of dialogue, implemented in such a way that the child found it accessible, interesting, and remembered something. Thank you for your efficiency and precision in your work. We will recommend to friends!

Tatyana Bulanova, Sergey Redko, Moscow

Thanks to Julia

We would like to say a huge thank you to Yulia Lyubushkina-Lubich for three whole days of joint work. An incredible guide for working with creative clients. The German photographer, to whom Julia showed the city and suburbs of St. Petersburg, was very pleased. Yulia is a very creative and flexible person who is sensitive to the client’s wishes. In a matter of minutes, she is able to completely redesign the program and adapt to her guests!

Letter of thanks

On behalf of the team of Zika LLC, a subsidiary of the international concern SIKA AG,
We express our gratitude to you, your team, and also directly to the guide Bazhenova Natalya
deep gratitude for the professionally prepared, informative and
a fairly comprehensive tour in English of the city of St. Petersburg in the allotted time.
We hope to continue our cooperation!

Gryaznov Yuri Nikolaevich Head of the direction “Repair and protection of structures” and special construction projects

Die Buchung über das Internet

Die Buchung über das Internet erfolgte absolut problemlos. Der Kontakt war zuerst auf englisch und sehr freundlich. Für 2 Tage haben wir unsere Führerin Kira gehabt. Sie sprach hervorragend deutsch und konnte uns zu allem etwas interessantes sagen. Keine einzige Frage blieb unbeantwortet. Innerhalb dieser 2 Tage haben wir fast alles gesehen, was St. Peter

Rainer and Natalja

Thank you for all your

Thank you

I would like to express my deep gratitude to the employees of your company for the excellent organization of the sightseeing excursion to French. Wonderful interesting educational excursion. I would especially like to thank the organizer Karina and our guide Dmitry Troyan. Thank you for your concern and professionalism. I wish you all the best prosperity.

Thank you for all your

Thank you for all your help in organizing our two days in st petersberg. our guide Olga was very pleasant and punctual. she did her very best in explaining all the historical information. we understand that the period we arrived in St. Petersberg was probably the height of the tourist season and so it made

Gratitude

Scientific production enterprise "AVIVAC" expresses gratitude to PERSONAL TOURS, special thanks to KARINA DEMACHEVA and the guides, for their creative approach, sensitivity, receptivity to wishes, high level of professionalism, organization of wonderful excursions, responsible attitude to work. Always ready to help. Thank you SO MUCH!!!

Family photo session on a boat

Many thanks to the entire Personal tours company and hotel manager Olga, captain of the vessel Katarina Dmitry, photographer Andrey! It's a pleasure to meet and work with professionals. Organization at the highest level. Without delays, from the delivery of the vessel and catering to the result (ready photo report). I have quite a bit of experience in photo shoots, but this is the first time I receive photos on time and even earlier. A

I want to express my deep gratitude to Olga

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Olga for the perfectly organized excursions. Olga Shcherbatykh is not only an excellent guide with excellent knowledge of her field and English language, but also wonderful, kind person. She quickly and easily adapted to our specific conditions (guests are older, tired, walk slowly, etc.). Please convey our collective gratitude to her.
Sincerely,

Ambe Negi

Thank you for the very good

Thank you for the very good organization of our short city trip. Fair price for the performance – we would book you again.

We express our gratitude to Karina for

Excursion to the Hermitage

So we returned to New York after our trip to Moscow and St. Petersburg.
We are very pleased with the excursion to the Hermitage. Anton showed good knowledge of the Hermitage and the English language.
Our children had no problems understanding his English and Russian.
Everything is fine. It was an unforgettable trip to Russia.
We will recommend your service

Walk along the canals

We hasten to express our deep gratitude for the wonderful excursion along the canals of St. Petersburg. We sailed on the boat "Venice". The boat is new and very comfortable. The tour was conducted by guide Vladimir, a historian by training, a man of truly encyclopedic knowledge. The presentation of the material is very interesting, not boring. For us, this guide and the whole excursion as a whole are the best for lately, and we often use the services of guides

Anna, Dmitry, Sasha

Puhkin

Hermoso paseo guiado. Nuestra guía María es maravillosa, hizo todo mucho más interesante. Nos sentimos muy bien atendidos por el transporte, la información de nuestra guía María y todo muy bien organizado, puntual y efectivo. No dudo en recomendar a esta compañía a mis amistades para tomar Tours guiados! Gracias por todo!!!

Excursion to Peterhof and Tsarskoe Selo

The excursion to Peterhof and Tsarskoe Selo was at the highest level.
The guests really enjoyed it!
Many thanks to the guide Olesya and Karina.
Even I, who have been to Tsarskoe Selo and Peterhof many times, had a HUGE pleasure!
During the excursion in the palace it felt like we were the only ones there.
THANK YOU!

Elena Rybakova

The organizers of the international dance show “Star Duet - Legends of Dance” in the Kremlin express their gratitude

On behalf of the organizers of the “Star Duet” 2017 show in the Kremlin, we would like to say thanks to Personaltours for the excellent cooperation in conducting a cultural program in St. Petersburg for foreign participants dance show. An excellent English-speaking guide Larisa, a highly professional driver Vladimir - masters of their craft, sensitive to the mood and desires of their clients! In just a few days, we were shown all the historical beauties of the cultural

We express on behalf of all our

On behalf of all our tourists, we express our gratitude to the manager Karina and the company for organizing all excursions, bus support, catering in St. Petersburg, special thanks to the guide Olga for interesting story about the attractions you visit.

Polishchuk Valentina

I liked everything very much

Special thanks to Karina for organizing an individual tour for guests from Germany. Despite the fact that 3 cruise ships with Germans arrived on the same day, a tour was organized with an excellent guide. The guests really enjoyed it and plan to come to our wonderful city again.

Professionalism

Many thanks to Elena and her team for the precise organization of the event - a boat trip for VIP guests. Elena drew attention to important details, without whom the event would not have been at such a high level. You can immediately see the work of a professional in his field! We hope for fruitful cooperation!

Ekaterina Safonova

From grateful clients

We have been using the services for several years, and no matter what we are working on - on a program for receiving a delegation or vacationing foreign guests (among whom were representatives of Japan, China, Italy, Germany, Norway, South Korea and other countries), Personnel Tours employees always respond quickly, They work efficiently and meet the wishes of both guests and customers. Please accept my deep gratitude for each

Everything is clearly organized by agreement. Good service

Everything was clearly organized by agreement. A good guide, a good car - everything was adjusted to our wishes. Good service for a reasonable price.

Thank you very much for organizing and conducting the excursion

In November of this year, we turned to Personaltours LLC for services in planning, organizing and conducting excursions for our foreign partners. The excursion was wonderful at the highest level! We thank manager Elena Karpova for her efficiency and flexibility in her work! Many thanks to Natalya Bazhenova for a wonderful excursion! Natalia is a knowledgeable and experienced guide with a sense of humor.

Margarita

Thank you for the amazing emotions

In fact, there are a lot of emotions and they are amazing!!! I want to thank you so much for an unforgettable excursion for the Czech professor to the magnificent Peterhof. The entire organization of the excursion from start to finish was excellent. Special thanks to the excellent guide Natalya (the professor is looking forward to her visiting Prague :-)). Good luck and prosperity to you! We will definitely recommend you to all our acquaintances and friends! Thank you

Catherine

Unforgettable three days!

Many thanks from our entire noisy company for these three amazing days in St. Petersburg! The entire program was compiled specifically for us, with great love for our city and our work! Thanks to Polina and Karina for their professionalism and sensitivity to each client. We had an amazing guide - Olga Fedorovna, thank you very much, we will

Bibigul

Thank you very much for a wonderful excursion

Thank you very much for the wonderful excursion program! We received a lot of pleasant impressions during our mini-trip, and most importantly, useful and interesting information about the northern capital, St. Petersburg.
P.S. Please say thank you again to Alena!

Many thanks to the entire team of Persornalturs LLC

Many thanks to the entire team of Persornalturs LLC. Thanks to Polina for the excellent program. It was compiled with great love for my work and the city. Everything was organized clearly, systematically, competently.

Tatyana Viktorovna

Wir bedanken uns ganz herzlich

Wir bedanken uns ganz herzlich für die Organization unseres Programms bei der Reise nach Sankt Petersburg! Alles war auf dem hohen Niveau und hat bestens funktioniert. Alle von Ihnen empfohlene Restaurants waren TOP.

Sehr zuverlässig!

Wir waren mit einer Reisegruppe in St. Petersburg im Mai 2016 und haben viel Spaß gehabt. Kollegen aus Personal Tours haben für uns 3 hervorragende Führungen, etc. Organisiert. Alles war auf TOP Niveau und wir sind sehr sehr zufrieden! Die Agentur Personal Tours kann ich allen nur empfehlen!

Friends, hello!

If you decide to visit the Hermitage St. Petersburg for the first time, this article will tell you everything about this attraction of the northern capital, will help you plan your visit correctly and not miss important details.

I tried to collect everything useful information for those who decided to see famous works art with your own eyes. In addition, coupled with the map-scheme that you “bleed from the nose” you need to get at the entrance, you can find way out of the “cultural trap” , when the voice of reason in your head treacherously creaks “Enough!”

Undoubtedly, the museum is worth visiting at least once. You must test your nervous system for strength. Will she be able to withstand two days of culture shock and emotional euphoria?

Many will ask why two days?

It's simple. It’s impossible to go around all the halls and see all the masterpieces in one excursion! You can get real pleasure only by leisurely wandering through the endless rooms of huge palaces. However, two lives are not enough for this, because in the museum there is more than 3,000,000 exhibits .

The history of the Hermitage begins in 1764, when the country was ruled by Catherine II. The Empress collected paintings by great artists, and at first the museum was considered her private collection. In 1852, the museum was given a new building and opened to the public.

Today the exhibitions are located in five buildings (!), located near the Neva River. Agree, in such a vast territory it is difficult for the average person not to get lost.

From one appearance The Hermitage is already breathtaking. By the way, when entering this temple of art, it is difficult not to experience a culture shock. The interior of the museum itself evokes admiration for its luxury. Of course, these buildings served as residences for the kings, where balls and receptions were held, so they spared no expense on the construction.

What are we going to watch?

The Hermitage is a huge complex of buildings. Here are not only unique works famous artists and sculptors. Items applied arts, ancient medals, coins, furniture, ancient artifacts - all this is located in a real palace-museum.

The museum consists of:

• Winter Palace;
• Small Hermitage;
• Great Hermitage;
• Hermitage Theater;
• New Hermitage.

Purchase a hall plan possible at the box office. For beginners, I still advise you not to skimp and join the excursion group. The guides will tell the fascinating history of the creation of the museum. In addition, this way you will definitely not get lost in the labyrinth of halls, and will find a way out of the “artistic” trap.

Tour of the Hermitage

Since it will not be possible to pay due attention to all the exhibits in the museum, tourists usually plan what they want to see even before going to the Hermitage. I will tell you about those halls that you definitely need to see.

Jordan Stairs. Typically, a museum tour begins with this. Made of white marble, the staircase is decorated with gold. Previously, it was intended for noble guests and ambassadors from other countries. Even in the photo the staircase looks amazing, royally majestic.

Portraits of the Romanov dynasty. A gallery of paintings depicting the famous imperial family can be found on the second floor of the Winter Palace (rooms 151 and 153).

Egyptian Hall (No. 100) is very popular among tourists. Here visitors will see mummies, sarcophagi, and ancient amulets.

Impressionist collection. Fans of Monet and Renoir will enjoy paintings by great artists located on the 3rd floor (rooms 316 to 350). There are also works by famous post-impressionists (Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cezanne).

Works by Leonardo Da Vinci. Two paintings by the famous artist, scientist and writer are located in the Old Hermitage building on the 2nd floor (room No. 214). Each painting is a priceless treasure.

Rembrandt Hall. Because those who want to see the paintings famous artist a huge amount, best time visiting this hall is an hour before the museum closes. At this hour, all excursions end, and you can calmly wander among the paintings. The hall is located in the New Hermitage on the 2nd floor (room No. 254).

Gold and diamond storerooms of the Hermitage

To visit the jewelry gallery, a tourist needs to buy two tickets at the box office. One to visit the museum, the other to visit the storerooms. Entrance here is strictly with a tour group and on a schedule.

I advise you not to delay purchasing a ticket; the gallery is in great demand among tourists. The schedule of the remaining excursions to the storerooms is indicated on the stands. The excursion lasts about two hours.

Visitor reviews

There are countless rave reviews about visiting the Hermitage. Many say that with its splendor the Winter Palace even eclipsed the famous Louvre in Paris . Of course, many did not have time to admire all the exhibits of this temple of art. Among the shortcomings, visitors noted long queues both at the ticket office and at the cloakroom, especially during the tourist season.

Information for visitors

Hermitage opening hours:
Tuesday – Sunday 10.30 – 18.00 (Wednesday, Friday until 21.00)
Closed on Mondays and holidays
Museum address: St. Petersburg, Palace Square, 2
Ticket prices :

• 700 rubles(680 if online) - entrance ticket to the Main Museum Complex and the Main Headquarters, Winter Palace of Peter I, Menshikov Palace, Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory
• 400 rubles— entrance ticket to the Main Museum Complex and the Main Headquarters, the Winter Palace of Peter I, the Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory for citizens of the Russian Federation and Belarus
• 1020 rubles— entrance ticket to the Main Museum Complex and the Main Headquarters, the Winter Palace of Peter I, the Menshikov Palace, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, operating within two days . The best offer on the market)) Sold only online here hermitageshop.ru/tickets/
• On the ball- preschoolers, schoolchildren, students, Russian pensioners and everyone on the 1st Thursday of the month (receive a free ticket is required)

Official website: hermitagemuseum.org

How to find the museum

The Hermitage buildings are located on Palace Embankment. If you are going to take a trip by metro, then you need to get off at the station "Nevsky Prospekt" . From any point on the avenue you can see the spire of the Admiralty. He will be a guide.

At the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and Bolshaya Morskaya Street, you need to turn right, passing under the huge arch of the General Staff Building. Thus, you will find yourself on Palace Square. Then you need to find the central entrance to the Winter Palace (and it’s hard not to find it).

Walk through the arches, decorated with openwork gates, into the courtyard. The stands have a schedule of excursions and prices. There is also an electronic scoreboard. Cash desks are located inside.

Those traveling by bus are also concerned about how to get to the museum. They must get off at the stop « State Hermitage Museum» , buses No. 7, 10, 24, 19 follow here. From Gostiny Dvor you can get to your destination by bus No. 49. You can also get there by trolleybus (No. 1,7,10 and 11).

This is good to know

Food and drinks are strictly prohibited from entering the museum. You can't even take water with you . If you have a large handbag or briefcase, you will have to return the accessory to the wardrobe. Ladies leave better at home shoes with stiletto heels, they can scratch parquet made of valuable wood species. Take care of the beauty, do not touch the exhibits with your hands! This is especially true for vases, gilded interior items and antique furniture.

And one more thing. In my next article I will definitely tell you why purchasing tickets online for 2 days at once, I think ideal option, but if you only have 1 day and you need to get everything done quickly, then on this site share great information on how to avoid queues:

http://www.speshun.ru/cultura/31-hermitage/hermitage-ocheredi

St. Petersburg is a unique city. There is always something to see and do here. During our 6 days of visit, we managed to do a lot, but, of course, not everything. Don't want to miss anything? Don’t want to spend your entire visit on non-essential things and leave the Northern capital with nothing?

Then you need to plan your visit correctly!

1. 1. Order yourself guide to St. Petersburg Here) in advance. This will help you start exploring the capital immediately upon arrival, rather than wasting time on acclimatization and searching for a bookstore.
   2. Decide on the program and book at least one excursion around St. Petersburg from professionals in their field. After this, sightseeing in St. Petersburg on your own will be more fun and productive)). If you come as a group, then watch the excursions here.
   3. About how we famously saved 50% at a band concert "Bricks" , visiting a restaurant "Mangal House" and boat rides on the Neva using the service Biglion read my articles about our stay in St. Petersburg.

So take action!

That's all for me! I suggest you subscribe to my blog . This way you will be the first to know all the useful information about travel!

See you again!

With full responsibility it can be called the Crown of Russian museum decoration. Like any crown, the Hermitage is decorated with many unique works of art. But there is one place that outshines all the others. What haunts the imagination of the common man is the Diamond Pantry.

The emergence of the Diamond Vault

At the beginning of the Hermitage’s existence, no one had any question about the ownership of all its treasures. Naturally, the Russian autocrats were the collectors and owners. However, over time the situation began to change, and already under Nicholas I a clear distinction between “personal” works and “state” ones appeared. During his reign, visitors were allowed into the Hermitage to see all the beauty and luxury of the exhibitions.

The emergence of the Jewelry Gallery is quite logical - at the end of the 19th century, the Winter Palace was divided into several zones. These were living quarters, rooms for intimate surroundings, as well as part of the premises, which began to be called the Imperial New Hermitage. It was in it that artistic treasures were stored. royal family. It included rare art treasures previously stored in the Kunstkamera, the Old Hermitage and the Moscow Armory. 165 items were moved from the Diamond Room to the Gallery. In December 1856 it was officially opened to the public.

"Brilliant" exhibits

One of the most striking collections is jewelry from the Renaissance, namely its marine theme. Baroque “wrong” pearls were used for jewelry. One such product is a caravel pendant made of a solid emerald. The Baroque pearl plays the “role” of the ship’s hull.

The nautical theme is continued by the “Elizabeth’s Dog” pendant from the famous corsair Francis Drake. This is a translucent round shaped rose quartz with a gold chain mount. The mount depicts a ship cutting through the waves, the owner’s name and the date “1590” are indicated, and a ship is also depicted plowing the endless expanses of the sea.

Unique items from the 17th century from the city of Trapani (Sicily) are truly worthy of a cabinet of curiosities, as they are rare and extraordinary. These are products made of gilded copper, silver and coral, which in a magical combination mesmerized the eyes of visitors. One of these products was a hand jug, from the walls of which corals seemed to grow.

The creation of self-taught mechanic Ivan Kulibin once again proves that in Rus' there have always been craftsmen who could outshine any Faberge. So, Ivan Petrovich made a unique watch in an egg-shaped gold case. The peculiarity of the product was that in addition to the clock mechanism, there were also small figures that danced to the wonderful music produced by the clock.

Tears of the gods - diamonds

However, despite all these unique items, the bulk of the collection is occupied by diamonds. And this is not surprising, because the 17th century is rightly called the “age of diamonds.” These amazing stones were used in literally all household items of exquisite “clients” - these could be watches and bracelets, torches and fans, snuff boxes and simply jewelry.

The Diamond Room features snuff boxes of all shapes and sizes. In the everyday life of the empress, they performed not only their immediate functions, but also the role of gifts for her favorites.

The watches kept in the museum are decorated with diamonds and were a sign of good taste. Moreover, they came with an elegant key on a gold chain, and a “simple trinket”, like all the listed items - decorated with diamonds, rubies and sapphires.

Continuing the conversation about diamonds, I would like to specifically mention the works of Jeremiah Pozier, who spent his entire life “decorating” Russian empresses and palace nobility. Among other masterpieces, the Diamond Room contains a golden box decorated with branches of diamonds; flower bouquets in which the role of flowers was played by diamonds set in silver frames. Ladies wore these bouquets on their belts or attached them to the bodice of their dresses. Later, in the 19th century, a fashion arose to place them in vases made of rock crystal. This amazing mineral gave the vases the effect of being filled with water.

If you have had the honor of tasting “bread and salt,” then you know how important this ceremony is. The august persons treated it with even greater attention - their salt shakers were bowls made of pure gold or silver, decorated with exquisite chasing and precious stones.

The nineteenth century was not very different from the eighteenth century. It was marked by iconic works by Carl Fabergé and his replicas of the imperial regalia. Among them were the large and small imperial crowns, a scepter and an orb. The copies are reduced ten times, but this is precisely what gives them their value as unique creations of jewelry. This work was carried out to participate in the World Jewelry Exhibition in Paris in 1900. For his work, Faberge was awarded the Exhibition Gold Medal and the Legion of Honor. After the end of the exhibition, Emperor Nicholas II bought these amazing products.

Interesting facts

The most worthy people who have done a lot for Russia became holders of the diamond-studded Order of St. Andrew the First-Called.

One of the holders of the order was Ivan Mazepa, hetman of the Zaporozhye Cossacks. Peter I personally bestowed the insignia of the order on the hetman “for his many noble and diligently faithful services in military labors.” However, in 1798 he was deprived of this order for going over to the side of the Swedes.

The order came with a chain consisting of 20 parts decorated with several hundred diamonds. This chain was valued at 77,233 rubles.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin again became the highest state award. The last of the holders of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called was Mikhail Gorbachev, who destroyed a great country.

Only experts can calculate the cost of exhibits in rubles, and this information may be closed to visitors. However, it is known for certain that the Great Imperial Crown in 1865 was valued at 823,976 rubles, the State - 190,353 rubles.

Our days

Today, the museum has not lost its interest in beautiful jewelry. One of the acquisitions of the 20th century was the work of the French jeweler Rene Lalique - the “Tangle of Snakes” pendant and the “Beetles” buckle.

With their brilliance, the exhibits in the Diamond Room can ignite a fire of interest in the eyes of any visitor. And this is not only because the cost of the exhibits in the Pantry is calculated by many “zeros”, but also because true values ​​penetrate deep into the soul and do not leave anyone indifferent.