Jaunted

Espionage, Elton John, and Forks at the Hermitage

8/23/2006 at 9:05 AM
Tags: Russia, museums (all tags)

Back in the late 1700s, Catherine the Great's massive shopping spree for expensive art collections might've seemed a touch greedy and excessive to the millions of Russians living at or below the poverty line. OK, even today it seems a bit excessive, but the result is the dramatic gallery which is St Petersburg's State Hermitage Museum. Housed in the old Tsars' Winter Palace, the selection ranges from ancient Egyptian artifacts through European impressionists like Monet and Matisse and the full history of Russian art. Despite the fact that the Hermitage museum complex is made up of 1,057 rooms, it's not too hard to spot the Golden Room where Elton John once held a concert: It's the one that's really, really golden.

The Hermitage was in the news this month after Russian police revealed that a curator (who mysteriously died when checks into this problem began) had stolen and sold masses of jewelry, silverware and religious icons. Poor security and outdated record-keeping systems got the blame, along with the low salary museum staff receive. Now if you follow the curator's style and feel the entry fee is too high, you'd grab a small golden or silver souvenir on your way out to even the score. But we wouldn't encourage that sort of thing, of course.

[Image via Daniel Brennwald/Flickr]

Related stories:
Hermitage Curator Sold Museum Goods [Fox News]
Finding Lunch in St Pete's [Jaunted]