The Winter Palace. Ages and Styles

In the first half of the 19th century splendid ensembles of the official halls and private rooms of the Winter Palace were constructed from the designs of the famous architects Carlo Rossi and Auguste Montferrand.

The fire of 1837 destroyed the Winter Palace almost to the ground with only burnt framework left. The architects Vasily Stasov and Alexander Briullov were commissioned to restore the Winter Palace.

In the second half of the 19th century the architects Alexander Briullov and Andrei Stakenschneider created in the buildings of the present-day Hermitage the interiors notable for variety of architectural forms and comfort.