Municipal History Museum

The museum was inaugurated in 1979 and since then it studies, preserves and popularizes the unique historical and architectural heritage of the region.

The building is characterized by wood-carved ceilings and doors made by local master-carvers, descendants of the Debar woodcarving school. The museum has 12 exhibition halls , a lapidarium and a yard with an authentic fountain. The fund is divided into four collections - Archeology, Ethnography, History, Art. The archaeological exposition presents a Thracian chariot, Thracian ceramics, a numismatic collection, marble statues and fragments from the Roman town Nicopolis ad Nestum (2nd century). Each year the museum arranges exhibitions of archaeological finds related to the Thracian, Slavonic and Old Bulgarian culture, found in the valley of Nestos (Mesta).

The ethnographic exhibition contains nearly 1500 items that represent the development of local crafts, known for their large volume of production at the end of 17th and the beginning of the 19th centuries. The displayed exhibits include tools and objects related to crafts that were popular in the region in this period, such as pottery, coppersmithery, bells manufacturing and others.

It develops systematic research and offers a series of educational programs.

Under a project funded by European programs, in 2012-2013, the Museum completely renovated its main exposition, created an attractive Internet site that offers a full virtual tour in the halls.