There were a number of Winter Palaces in SPb.
The first one was built for Peter the Great in 1708, the creator of St. Petersburg. He selected the site for his residence. His successors followed his example and had erected new Winter Palaces along the Neva Embankment.
The present Winter Palace is the sixth one, built by Rastrelli.
The word Hermitage comes from the French, and means a a place of solitude. This building joined to the Winter Palace by a gallery with the Hanging Garden, where Catherine II enjoyed walking.
The Hermitage museum was founded in 1764. Catherine held her soirees here with her confidants. According to Lobanova, the Hermitage does not relate to the first art acquisitions of Catherine II. It was much later that the name became synonymous with her art collection. However, her picture gallery did mark the beginning of the Imperial collection.
In all the compound comprises five separate buildings all joined by hanging corridors.