The central part of the southern façade of the Winter Palace, Hermitage (Photo: Florstein (WikiPhotoSpace))

By the beginning of the 2016 summer season, the Hermitage intends to open a special entrance for visitors who have purchased a ticket to the museum via the Internet for the full price (almost 600 rubles). This was reported by St. Petersburg Vedomosti with reference to representatives of the museum. Beneficiaries (which include all Russian citizens - for them a ticket costs 400 rubles) will still have to stand in line in front of the ticket office.

Voucher exchange

Now, let us remind you, you can buy a virtual Hermitage voucher online, which does not allow you to immediately enter the museum - first it must be exchanged for a paper ticket with a stamp at a special kiosk, under the arch behind the Main Gate of the Winter Palace. The new system will allow holders of Internet tickets with a barcode not to look for kiosks, but to go straight to the museum.

As the newspaper writes with reference to Alexander Galkin, adviser to the general director of the museum, and Alexey Grigoriev, head of the computer technology sector, the new entrance to the Hermitage (where the barcode reading device will be located) will be located in the building of the Small Hermitage, along which Shuvalovsky Passage runs (in the nearest months will be open).

The Hermitage says that if selling tickets via the Internet becomes popular, they will have to set the exact time of entry to the museum (for now, Internet tickets only indicate the day of the visit without the exact time). In addition, the museum is considering whether it is possible to introduce sessions during the peak tourist season for a certain time. The option of limiting the time of visiting the most popular halls is also being considered.

Serious problems can arise during the peak tourist season. The fact is that, according to fire safety requirements, visitors should be able to leave the buildings of the museum complex in 6.5 minutes in case of an emergency. This means that there should not be more than 6.5-7 thousand people in museum premises at the same time. Now the number of people in the museum at the same time is determined by the tickets sold. In the case of mass purchase of tickets via the Internet, it will be more difficult to control the flow of visitors, the newspaper writes.

In this case, the museum can be equipped with its own visitor counters; each room will have its own limit. Accurate information about the total number of visitors will be summarized on one computer.

“All this means that those standing in line at the box office must be psychologically prepared for the fact that the museum’s security service may suspend the sale of tickets until the number of spectators falls below the “red” line of seven thousand,” the newspaper writes, citing its interlocutors.

The price of art

A ticket to the Hermitage via the Internet is sold only at full price - 580 rubles. In the summer, the Hermitage promises to place its administrators not only in the courtyard, but also on the approaches to it on Palace Square. The duties of these administrators include guiding those wishing to buy 600-ruble tickets to one of the eight ticket terminals located in the courtyard. Parents with such tickets are promised to be escorted to the ticket office inside the Winter Palace, where they can quickly receive free tickets for their children. But there can be no more than two children per family.

A discount ticket, which is usually purchased by Russian citizens, will still cost 400 rubles. However, it can only be purchased at the museum’s regular ticket office, as well as free for students and pensioners of the Russian Federation. Skip-the-line access to the Hermitage is provided only to war veterans, blockade survivors, and people with disabilities who use wheelchairs.

The Hermitage will open a separate entrance for wealthy visitors