This world class museum started in 1764 when Catherine the Great added a small building next to her winter palace to house her newly acquired paintings. This private collection of the monarch grew through the years. During the 19th century, new buildings were added as a museum for the public, so that the Russian people can appreciate Western cultures. After the Communist October Revolution, the former palace also became part of the museum. It is now a complex of buildings linked by bridges that include the Winter Palace, the original Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theater and administrative buildings.