The State Hermitage Museums not only include the Winter Palace and the General Staff Building on Palace Square but also a number of other structures. For example, the main branches of this prominent St. Petersburg museum include the Menshikov Palace on Vasilievsky Island, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in the southeastern part of the city, and the Winter Palace of Peter I in the very heart of St. Petersburg. This article focuses on the latter.
How to Get There by Metro
The nearest metro station to the palace is Admiralteyskaya, on the purple line. The walk from there takes about 15 minutes. For mapping the route, the museum's address is Palace Embankment, 32.
The price for an adult ticket (without discounts) is 300 rubles (as of November 2019). Once a day, at 14:30, there are guided tours of the palace's halls. An additional fee of 150 rubles is required for a guided tour.
A Bit of History
Although we are headed to Peter I’s Winter Palace, this building ceased to exist as such back in the 18th century. Today, a preserved section of the wall on the east bank of the Winter Canal is all that remains of the old building (you can easily spot it by its different color). The halls of the modern museum are located inside the Hermitage Theatre building, which stands on the site of the first Russian emperor's palace.
The first "winter house" of Peter I appeared in 1708. The building was made of wood, and the architect who designed it remains unknown. Images of the palace have not survived.
By 1711, the wooden house was dismantled, and construction began on the second Winter Palace, this time designed by the renowned architect Domenico Trezzini. The second palace is also known as the "Wedding Chambers" because Peter and Catherine came here on the evening of their wedding day.
The third palace was built according to a design by Georg Johann Mattarnovi from 1716, and the emperor and his family moved in by 1720. This palace was located closer to the Neva River, right where the Hermitage Theatre stands today. We can see the interiors of this particular structure in the museum today.
While the Winter Palace of Peter I eventually disappeared from St. Petersburg's cityscape, architect Giacomo Quarenghi partially preserved the foundation while constructing the Hermitage Theatre. The first-floor walls of the "Small Chambers," a wing specially built for the tsar, also remained in place.
In 1992, a memorial museum opened here, featuring several reconstructed interiors from Peter’s time: the "small chambers," part of the ceremonial courtyard, and a gallery. A special mention goes to the so-called "Wax Person" located in the former guardroom. This figure of the emperor was created by sculptor Bartolomeo Carlo Rastrelli after Peter’s death. This exhibit elicits a range of reactions from visitors, from admiration to fear.
Despite the theater's considerable size, the museum occupies only a small portion of it, so a tour of the interiors should take no more than an hour. If you have time, you can also visit other nearby attractions in one day. For instance, the Vladimir Palace, with its own excellent tours, is not far away.
