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In the construction of the Hermitage, now
one of the richest museums in the world, several foreign architects
participated. It all started with a small winter palace, planned by Vallin de
la Mothe, which Catherine II erected in 1765 next to the main winter palace. In
addition to an apartment, the palace contained a few halls filled with
paintings, which prompted the empress to rename it Hermitage. Steady
acquisitions of new art objects required more space, and Catherine commissioned
Velten, who, in 1771-1775, added the second or Grand Hermitage. Then in
1779-1785, the architect Guarenghi added to the two buildings the Gallery of
the Loges. All three were connected to each, other and to the winter palace. In
1840 Nicholas I commissioned the German architect Leon de Klenze and the
Russian architect Andrei Ivanovich Stakenschneider to completely reconstruct
the Hermitage, and its present appearance dates from 1852. For many photos of
the Hermitage interiors please go to
peteburg.
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