The State Hermitage Museum is one of the most popular museums in the world. This art museum is located in Saint Petersburg and is the largest of its kind in the world. It was founded in 1764, when Empress Catherine the Great acquired a collection of paintings from Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. Since then, the Hermitage has become one of the most visited museums in the world. Today, the museum exhibits more than 3 million pieces, including a large collection of Russian and European paintings.

The museum is home to a wide variety of art from different cultures, including Greek, Egyptian, and Hellenistic. The museum also has two masterpieces by the Italian Renaissance painter Antonio Canova. The Hermitage also has beautiful works of Japanese art. The collection also includes Russian and European ancient and medieval art. The museum is also home to an academic library with more than 800,000 books.