Russia’s largest and most famous art museum got its start when Catherine the Great started a buying program in the 1760s. This was after she maneuvered herself onto the throne over the corpse of her late husband, the Czar. She lived well. This is the small throne room.
Using the wealth generated by the 99.999%, the royal family went shopping for art every year until the October revolution of 1917. The Hermitage then hit the jackpot when the Bolsheviks “nationalized” the amazing collections of other members of the nobility. The final major source of treasures was the war booty scooped up by the Red Army as it rolled into Germany in 1945. What Hitler had seized was now Russia’s, as long as they kept it confidential for 50 years. So, they unveiled it in 1995.
There’s a lot to see. The number of Gaugin paintings was especially surprising. Being part of a group prevented us from drowning in it all. Not only are the buildings spectacular, what they hold is just as impressive.
The traffic is also quite impressive. It’s been taking our bus an hour to navigate the 5 or 10 miles to downtown St. Petersburg. This gives us a chance to take in some sights along the way. Here’s the Peter and Paul fortress where Peter the Great founded the city in 1703 and a fisherman engaged in a timeless pursuit.
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