The Ground Floor

The entrance door leads to the narrow vestibule with small rooms or cabinets located on either side, behind carved partitions. Then follows the Pantry. It was to this large room that the central part of the dining-table installed on the first floor was lowered through the oval opening in the ceiling. It slided along the vertical guiding beams and was set into motion by two winches. It was served and then, with a full set of dishes and vessels, lifted through the opening in the ceiling. Dishes were usually prepared in the kitchens of the Monplaisir and the Great Palace and brought to the Hermitage where, for that case, there also was a small kitchen, with a stove and a set of spare utensils, located to the left of the Pantry. Meals could be warmed up there and even cooked if necessary.

To the left of the Pantry is a small room with a staircase leading to the first floor. In the eighteenth century, this room was occupied by a special lift for two persons. The powerful surviving beam which can still be seen on the wall was used as a guide. The chair-lift was put in operation by means of a winch which hoisted it to the level of the first floor. This oldest lift functioned well until 1797 when its mechanism broke down during Paul I's stay in the Hermitage. The Emperor and his family were cautiously evacuated by the ladder put to the balcony. After this accident it was ordered to have the lift dismantled and replaced with the present-day staircase.

• Introduction
• The Ground Floor
  • The Hall
  
  The Kitchen.