Hermitage Museum complex" was a creation of Catherine's that allowed all kinds of festivities to take place in the palace, the theatre and even the museum of the Hermitage. This helped solidify the Hermitage as not only a dwelling place for the Imperial family, but also as an important symbol and memorial to the imperial Russian state. Today, the palace and the museum are one and the same. In Catherine's day, the Winter Palace served as a central part of what was called the Palace Square. The Palace Square served as St. Petersburg’s nerve center by linking it to all the city's
Vilnius Guggenheim Hermitage Museum forms and the vertical forms of nearby skyscrapers. The top of the building reflects surroundings of the Vilnius city. Hadid asserted that ""It is especially important today to acknowledge cultural buildings, that they have unique and special morphologies. Those buildings should make an impression on people, people should accept them."" The director of the Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Thomas Krens, the director of Frankfurt's Museum of Architecture Peter Schmal, and the vice-chairman of the Lithuanian Architects Union, Gintaras Čaikauskas, were members of the jury that evaluated the designs. Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas