What is the name of the palace that houses the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg?

The Winter Palace is the palace that houses the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Built beside the Neva River, it was the principal residence of Russia’s imperial family until the 1917 Revolution.

The palace was designed mainly by the Italian architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli for Empress Elizabeth and completed in 1762. Its immense green-and-white Baroque exterior faces Palace Square and became one of the defining architectural landmarks of imperial St. Petersburg.

The Hermitage collection began with Catherine the Great, who purchased 225 paintings in 1764. The museum later expanded into neighbouring buildings, including the Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage and Hermitage Theatre. The Winter Palace is therefore the best-known building in the complex, but not the only one.

Peterhof Palace and Catherine Palace are also famous former imperial residences near St. Petersburg, which makes them tempting wrong answers. The museum’s main visitor entrance is in the Winter Palace, and its richly decorated rooms now display works from the Hermitage’s enormous collection.