In December 2013 a decision was taken to make the Stock Exchange Building designed by Thomas de Thomon in 1805-1810 a part of the State Hermitage Museum. On April 18, 2014 this outstanding architectural monument of St. Petersburg was officially handed over to the Hermitage. To mark it a special ceremony was held which signalled the start of the new project for the creation of the new museum complex of the State Hermitage, the Museum of Heraldry and Trophies.
The Stock Exchange Building, a part of the architectural ensemble of the Spit of Vasilievsky Island, housed the Central Naval Museum from 1939 until 2010. When the museum had moved into the Kryukov Naval Barracks, the question of the possibility for the historical building to preserve its function as a museum came up.
The idea to create the Museum of Heraldry in the Stock Exchange Building is easy to justify, since the Hermitage can present the history of blazonry from an all-embracing historical and geographical perspective. The museum will feature Far Eastern, Japanese, Chinese, Islamic, Turkish, European and Russian heraldry. The museum display will include all kinds of exhibits that can illustrate the history of heraldry: paintings, graphic art, porcelain, silver, numismatics, books, banners, flags and uniforms.
Furthermore, the Stock Exchange Building provides a unique opportunity to host official city and state ceremonies. The Main Hall of the Stock Exchange may be used as the venue for holding official ceremonies to celebrate the Day of the National Guard, National Flag Day, Russia Day, state awards ceremonies and oath-taking ceremonies.