"...You are not the northern lights, you are the most bright star of the North, and there never has been any other luminary so beneficial" - this was the characteristic given by Voltaire to Catherine the Great. Her personality illuminated the epoch that got in history the name of the "Magnificent Age". In the reign of Catherine II the grandeur palace ensemble that became the official residence and the storehouse of the art treasures and also private appartments of the Russian Empress was erected.

On 7 February 1852 in the building of the New Hermitage the first Russian public museum was open for the visitors. The tradition of collecting works of art led down in Catherine's time becomes a part of the state policy. 19th century brings changes in the life of the royal residence. Interiors of the palace ensemble get renewed according to the new tastes. Official and private life of the members of the royal family is connected with the walls of the palace, as well as the last page of the reign of the Romanov's dynasty.