According to General Consul of the Netherlands in St. Petersburg Henrik Evveraars, the cost of the contract will amount to about 80 million Dutch Gulden. The initiative was expressed by Hermitage's Director Mikhail Piotrovsky and Chairman of Friends of the Hermitage Society Ernst Veen. The project will be financed out of donations by Dutch enterprises and private art fans. A building has already been set aside for the new museum, which will be called "Hermitage on Amstel". It is expected to open in 2006. The branch will not have a permanent collection of its own, but 2 to 3 exhibits of works from the Hermitage will be conducted in it annually. Mr. Evveraars mentioned that, according to the agreement, works by Rembrandt will not be exhibited in the "Hermitage on Amstel" in order not to create competition for the State Rembrandt Museum in the Netherlands. Source: RBC.

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