Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rooms 155-156
Moorish Dining Room and Rotunda.
Rooms 157-162
The Petrovsky Gallery displays personal effects and equipment
used by Peter the Great, as well as some beautiful early-18th-century furniture. Look
for the ivory chandelier that was partly built by Peter himself.
Room 161
In 1880 there was an attempt on the life of Alexander II in this room. A
young revolutionary, Khalturin, planted a bomb in the room below. It killed 11 sol-
diers when it went off, although the tsar had wandered into another room at the time.
PAVILION HALL
A highlight of the Hermitage is the ceremonial Pavilion Hall (Room 204), an airy
white-and-gold room sparkling with 28 chandeliers. The south windows look on to
Catherine the Great's hanging garden, while the north overlooks the Neva. The amaz-
ing floor mosaic in front of the windows is copied from a Roman bath. The
centrepiece, though, is the incredible Peacock Clock, created by James Fox in 1772. A
revolving dial in one of the toadstools tells the time, and on the hour (when it's work-
ing) the peacock spreads its wings and the toadstools, owl and cock come to life. The
Peacock Clock is exercised on a monthly basis, but otherwise it's retired.
There is good provision of toilets throughout the Hermitage - don't
make the rookie mistake of thinking that those at the foot of the Jordan
Staircase as you enter are the only ones available, as the lines (espe-
cially for women) can be very long indeed.
Rooms 175-189: Imperial Apartments
This series of rooms represents the private apartments of the last tsar, Nicholas II and
the imperial family. Many of these rooms were completed in 1894, and they now
show off elaborate 19th-century interiors.
Room 178
Nicholas II spent much of his time in this wonderful Gothic library,
topped with a sublime walnut ceiling.
Room 181
The relatively small and intimate Pompeii dining room.
Room 187
The griffin-motif furniture in this palace drawing room dates from 1805.
Room 188
This small dining room is where the Provisional Government was arres-
ted by the Bolsheviks in 1917.
