The State Hermitage Museum: Hermitage News

Restoration Work in the Winter Palace

On 18 May 2004, in time for Museum Day, the Rotunda, the Dark Corridor and the Coffee Service Stairway of the Winter Palace were reopened to the public following restoration work. From November 2003 until May 2004 restoration work was carried out in the Rotunda and Dark Corridor, which have an overall surface area of 648 square meters. In the process of restoring the parquet floors, all due attention given to the peculiarities of the parquet’s design and the condition of the floor structure. Special care was exercised in repairing the foundation beneath the parquet, a primary floor. In the Rotunda there were 35 sections like this, and in the Dark Corridor, more than 50. The stability of the primary floor was secured by mounting wedges between the supports and the planks; moisture resistant plywood was used, together with water-dispersion glue made by Bon D 720. When replacing elements of the parquet, rare varieties of wood were used: amaranth, box-tree, sandalwood, palisander, walnut, ebony, and rosewood. After polishing the surface of the parquet, master parquet layers restored the artistic engraving by hand. A cosmetic repair was also performed on the walls and ceilings, and the lighting system of the Rotunda and Dark Corridor was reconstructed. In addition, with the support of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Russian Federation, and in the framework of the federal program entitled "Social Support for Invalids during 2000-2005", the elevator in the Coffee Service Stairway was redone. A new passenger lift (elevator) made by the Italian company Daldoss Elevetronik S. p.a. was installed; this has a hydraulic drive and weight capacity of 480 kg. The elevator shaft is constructed of a metal frame and glass. By increasing the size of the elevator shaft, it became possible to install an elevator cabin with doors which open on the two opposite sides of the staircase, meaning that it is now possible to take invalids in wheel-chairs to the second floor of the Jordan Staircase At the same time as the new elevator was installed, a cosmetic repair was made on the Kafeschenk Staircase (Coffee Service Staircase), and also a fundamental reconstruction was performed on the systems of electrical supply and electrical illumination of the lift (elevator). Lighting was replaced and the room formerly housing the elevator mechanism was redone with new artificial illumination. All the telecommunications and alarm system wiring was redone, and a system of video supervision was put in.

The restoration work and the reconstruction of the elevator was all managed within the State Hermitage by its Section of the Chief Mechanic (O.V.Tolpygin, Chief Mechanic; A.P.Lushitsky, Group Leader for Building Operations; I.V.Barabanshchikova, engineer for maintenance of parquet floors).

Restoration of the parquets of the Rotunda and Dark Corridor was carried out by the company Parket-Hall. Reconstruction of the shaft and installation of the new elevator was performed by the company ZAO "Elbrus" and the elevator company TLS, OOO "MASI". Repairs to the Rotunda and Dark Corridor were done by the Special Scientific and Restoration Production Workshop of the State Hermitage (N.I.Trubnikov, director; A.F.Rabko, chief engineer).

Restoration of the parquet floors in the Rotunda

Polishing the surface of the parquet floors