Buildings

Refurbishment of the lighting system in the Hermitage Theatre
In December 2006 the refurbishment of the lighting system in the Hermitage Theatre (1783-85, architect: Giacomo Quarenghi) was completed.
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Repairs to the roofs of the museum complex. The Small Hermitage
In 2006 the Elbrus company repaired the roofs of the Small Hermitage above the Pavilion Hall and the Romanov Gallery.
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Repairs to the manifold of the Large Hermitage's closed heating system.
Repairs to the main pipes of the Small Hermitage's heating system
In 2006 routine repairs were carried out on the manifold of the hot-water heating system in the Large Hermitage. In the course of the work, carried out by specialists from the PMF company, modern plumbing equipment made by the company Broen was installed. It allows rapid operational switching and regulation of the system's consumption of heat transfer agent.
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Complete refurbishment of the Winter Palace's drainage-water pumping station located in the Admiralty Square
When the Winter Palace was being constructed, to avoid damp in the cellars of the building and to better preserve the foundations a system of drainage channels was created along which water would flow naturally into the Neva. Mechanical valves were installed on the channels connected to the open body of water.
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Reconstruction of the flagstaff of the Winter Palace
On 9 June 2006 the flagstaff of the Winter Palace was formally inaugurated after restoration work.
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Work to identify and preserve the engineering and technical heritage on the premises of the State Hermitage
In the summer of 2006 exploration of the cellar of the Small Hermitage revealed beneath a heap of old bricks a large fragment of an Amosov furnace that belonged to the main heating system of the Hermitage complex of buildings in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
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The Hermitage Gardens
The outdoor territory of the State Hermitage's Repository in Staraya Derevnia is gradually, like the entire restoration and storage complex, is becoming an open storage area. An unusual part of the museum's stocks is the rare trees, collections of different kinds of plants and a sort of copy of the Hanging Garden of the Small Hermitage that preserves the layout that it had in the last quarter of the 20th century.
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Restoration of the façades of the Hermitage buildings
In accordance with the programme for the Restoration of the Facades of the State Hermitage, each year scheduled work is carried out to renew the façades of the buildings in the Hermitage architectural ensemble.
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The Winter Palace. Restoration of the Balustrade Sculptures
Between August and the end of 2004, restoration work on sculptures was carried out on the southern facade of the Winter Palace facing Palace Square. Detailed research on the state of preservation of all the 177 sculptures revealed the presence of numerous defects. As a result it was decided to do urgent restoration on 12 sculptures which were especially in danger and a description of the restoration tasks was drawn up.
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Russian-Danish project on energy saving and improving the climate in the premises of the State Hermitage
On the basis of a Danish-Russian programme for energy saving dating from 1996, the decision was taken to reconstruct the hot air heating systems in the Winter Palace to economize on energy and improve the climatic conditions in museum premises. At the time when the reconstruction began there were in operation 16 thermal centres and 200 ducts in the walls carrying heated air.
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Restoration work in the Menshikov Palace
The Menshikov Palace was the first monumental masonry building to be constructed in St Petersburg. The palace, with grand lines, crowned by a high mansard roof and decorated with sculptures and princely crowns, became not merely a witness, but a symbol of the age of Peter the Great. In this edifice the architects and builders of the new capital gathered, as did the creators of the Russian navy. Here laws were devised and questions of Russian foreign policy settled. It was also the venue for many of Peter's famous assemblies (secular functions new to Russian culture).
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The General Staff building in the museum's development programmes
Restoration and reconstruction of the Eastern Wing of the General Staff building is a key element in the Greater Hermitage project. The building will be turned into a multifunctional cultural and educational complex in which in addition to the museum displays there will be entertainment and commercial centres to meet the leisure-time interests of Petersburgers and visitors to the Northern Capital.
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