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To the order of Empress Catherine II, the Southern Pavilion of the Small Hermitage was erected in 1765-66 according to a design by the architect Yury Velten. The appearance of this building organically combined the features of the Late Baroque style with Early Classicism. Later, in 1767-69, the architect Jean Baptist Vallin de la Mothe constructed the Northern Pavilion on the bank of the Neva using the Early Classicism style. The two structures are joined at the level of the first floor by the Hanging Garden, which has galleries on both sides. This architectural ensemble was called the "Small Hermitage," because in the Northern Pavilion Catherine II had parties with games and performances which were known as "small hermitages." Art works were housed in the side galleries, thereby starting the collections of the Imperial museum. In the mid-19th century Andrei Stakenschneider built the Pavilion Hall in the Small Hermitage, a vivid example of the Eclecticism style in interior decoration.
In the Hermitage architectural ensemble, the Small Hermitage is a link between the magnificent Baroque building of the Winter Palace and the splendid constructions of the age of Classicism - the Great Hermitage and the New Hermitage.