On April 21, 2012, the website of the Hermitage Museum in Russia suddenly announced to the public that in order to recognize the dedicated and dedicated cats, they specially applied for the patent rights of cartoon images, and at the same time released the documentary "Hermitage - The Cat's Palace", and published the first book in history dedicated to the "Hermitage Cat", "The Cat House of the Hermitage".
In the face of the media's questions, the museum director only responded lightly: "Hermitage cats" are an inseparable part of the Hermitage, and they have their own special soul - the soul of St. Petersburg.
Hermitage Museum, together with the British Museum in the United Kingdom, the Louvre Museum in France and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States are collectively known as the "four major museums in the world", and the "Hermitage Museum" known to tourists is actually only one of the six palace complexes under the Hermitage Museum, built in the early 18th century, the early royal palace of Peter the Great, known as "the greatest palace in the history of Russian neoclassical architecture", in order to highlight the importance of the Winter Palace, Russia also issued a special decree requiring all buildings in St. Petersburg not to be higher than the Winter Palace.
Peter the Great created the most brilliant "golden age" in Russia, and the royal families of European countries have a tradition of collecting works of art to highlight the magnates and wealth, Peter the Great naturally can not be exempted from the vulgarity, the conquest of the Baltic Sea, Sweden, Turkey, Persia and other places to get the spoils of war in the Winter Palace, including hundreds of famous paintings and thousands of ancient books, so that in order to solve the rat plague, cats were specially imported from the Netherlands to protect the treasures.
After Peter the Great died of a wind and cold rescue, his daughter Elizabeth signed a decree in 1745 to introduce 13 "Kazan cats", officially confirming the identity of the "cat guard" from an official point of view. In the era of Empress Catherine, thousands of famous paintings and antiques were purchased from all over Europe in one go, and the newly built palace flank was renamed "Hidden Palace" to store the collection, that is, the Old French "Hermitage".
The interior of the original "Hidden Palace" was decorated with wooden structures and a large number of wood carvings, the "Dutch cat" introduced by Peter the Great and Elizabeth's 13 "Kazan cats" were not enough to cope with the rampant rat infestation, Empress Catherine simply implemented the "Reward for Meritorious Deeds" and the "Cat Title System", scoring by recording the various behaviors of the Hermitage cat, scoring one point for each mouse caught, five points for each breeding kitten, 100-1000 points for meritorious service, 100 points for upgrading "Cat Sergeant Officer", 500 points for "Cat Lieutenant Officer", 1000 points to promote "cat colonel", 5000 points or more for "cat general", the higher the "cat rank", the richer the food received.
The clever "Hermitage Cat" quickly understood the Empress's good intentions and grew the team to more than 300 in just five years, but only one "cat general" appeared, that is, a white cat named Hermitage (Hermitage) who appeared in the 2014 "Hermitage Photography Exhibition".
However, a fire in 1837 burned down the Winter Palace, destroying hundreds of cats and all the documents documenting their work and achievements, leaving only a few records of folk writers, who said that these cats would rather be engulfed alive by the fire than leave the guardian land. Therefore, the reconstructed Hermitage specially set up more than ten "cat houses" for the new cats, all of which are mainly made of stone building materials, and there are 11 pipes connecting the Neva River channel before and after, so that the cats can quickly escape in case of fire.
In 1917, the Russian uprising people invaded the Winter Palace, precious cultural relics were looted by thousands of people, the palace walls were in disarray, even the hundreds of barrels of wine collected in the cellar were poured into the river, only the "cat house" was as peaceful as ever, it is said that because of the cat's transcendent status in the Russian people, they believe that the cat is the "guardian" and "exorcist", so they dare not offend.
The Hermitage underwent another large-scale renovation after the end of World War II before it was converted into the "Hermitage Public Museum", and a series of traces related to the feudal era were erased, including the "Hermitage Cat House", and hundreds of people launched a spontaneous campaign to "save the Hermitage Cat" after being discovered on the open day, which was the first large-scale protest in human history for the welfare of cats.
More than ten days later, the Hermitage compromised, and the "Cat Secretary" and Cat Doctor, who were openly recruited to serve the "Hermitage Cat", as well as three full-time caretakers, as compensation for the demolition of the cat house, the Hermitage issued the "Cat Guard Privilege Order", allowing cats to move in any area within the Hermitage without any restrictions, and this tradition has continued to this day.
Since the new "cat guards" only counted 50 cats, the Winter Palace set the establishment of the first generation of "cat civil servants" within 50, but in fact, the statistics in 2013 have exceeded 60, and in 2020, after the closure of the museum due to the epidemic, there are 96 cats, eating in 8 "cat canteen" areas. In order to distribute cat food, insect repellents and nutritional products in a healthy manner, the Hermitage "Cat Secretary" records each "Hermitage cat" and applies for an identity badge and identity card for them, and the cat consumption is donated by the society, reaching 35,000 rubles per cat.
In order to thank the "Hermitage Cats" who have served for 277 years, the Hermitage Museum not only celebrates the birthday of each cat, but also sets April 21 as "Cat Day" every year, and every year around Cat's Day, it gives all its resources to the "Hermitage Cats": for them to hold public events such as photography exhibitions, painting exhibitions, etc., to open the canteen of the "Hermitage Cats" and the area where they rest, the café is decorated with the "Republic of cats", and the "Hermitage Cat Friends Club" is fully staffed to explain the name, age and habits of each cat to tourists.
Some people say that "the cat guards the Hermitage", and some people say that "the Hermitage completes the cat", and I very much agree with the Director of the Hermitage that "the cat is an inseparable part of the Hermitage", and few people can take care of the cat so carefully, let alone the Hermitage, which is one of the four major museums in the world.
After a "Hermitage cat" crossed the road outside the museum and was crushed by a car and broke one leg, the mayor of St. Petersburg directly asked the municipal department to set up a warning sign in the nearby neighborhood that reads "Pay attention to cat hauntings". Tourists who are interested in the "Hermitage Cats", if they can't arrange a cat day to visit the Hermitage, they can also search for their figures inside and outside the museum or directly ask the staff for help, the only thing to note is that some areas should whisper softly so as not to frighten them.