Hermitage Museum - St. Petersburg

[halanb]

The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg Russia is one of the world's largest (3 million items in collection) and one of the most respected. Larissa has previously written in The Bell Tower about some of the table bells in their collection.

They offer an English language version (in cooperation with IBM) of their website. This link will take you to the homepage from which you may access the entire museum.
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/index.html

To access the section on bells, enter "bells" in the QUICK SEARCH block.

[Glockensammler]

Yes, it is a fantastic museum and I was lucky to be able to make a visit there
a couple of years ago.

I checked my collection and I even found a few bells that are on display there.

Here they are:

Double click for a larger view.

[halanb]

The third bell above was described by:

Dorothy Anthony (Bells, Now and Long Ago, plate 7) as:
"Queen Victoria in later life "

the Hermitage Museum website as:
"Bell in the form of a female dwarf"

[Carolyn Whitlock]

My husband, daughter, and I will be spending two days in St. Petersburg next month. I have checked the Hermitage's website and found no mention on it of a display of their bells. So, I contacted Alan Burgdorf, Larissa Franczek, Marsha Wolfson, and our new Russian ABA member, Sergey Rozanov, who lives in St. Petersburg, and asked for their help. I would like to thank them all for the time and effort they put in to gathering information and sending it to me. Here's what I found out:

1. There is no specific section of bells displayed at The Hermitage.
2. Their bells are in boxes in store rooms.
3. Some bells are used as decorations in some display rooms.
4. An official letter from the ABA may be needed in order to arrange for a "private" showing of the bells.
5. If one is to go to the Hermitage Museum, it should be expected there will be long lines of people waiting to go in.
6. There is a gift shop at the Hermitage. or

The bottom line is: If there is ever an ABA Convention held in St. Petersburg, we may be able to arrange for a private display of the bells!

Carolyn