Here are some interesting facts about the Winter Palace: 

• The Hermitage is huge. It has 1,057 rooms, 117 staircases, and 1945 windows. They say, to get around all the exhibits of Hermitage, you will need to spend 11 years of life and walk 22 kilometers.
• Total number of sculptures around the Hermitage is 176. The number of vases can be counted by oneself.
• 4,000 masons and plasterers, modelers, parquet floor layers and painters built the Hermitage. The workers used to live in small tents and terrible living conditions.
• From 1754 to 1762 there was construction on the palace and it became the tallest building in St. Petersburg at that time. 
• After the completion of the Winter Palace, the area in front of it was littered with debris. Emperor Peter III decided to get rid of it in an original way. He ordered the people to declare that anyone can take all the debris you want, and for free. After a few hours all the debris had been cleared.
• In 1837, the palace was burnt down. Homeless remained whole imperial family. However, 6,000 unknown workers saved the day by working day and night for 15 months, and the palace was completely restored. However, the price of labor heroism was a few hundred workers.
• The Winter Palace was always repainted in different colors, such as red and pink. The original color was pale green, which is from 1946.
• The Winter Palace is an absolutely monumental structure. It was intended to reflect the might and majesty of the Russian Empire. It is estimated that there are 1,786 doors, 1,945 windows and 117 staircases. The length of the main facade of 150 meters, and 30 meters tall.