he museum owns more than 50 000 pieces of cultural valuables made of wood, stone, metal, ceramics, glass, precious stones, cloths, also lots of photos and documents.
 
 
     The department is concerned with the museum exponents from the period from V – IV millennium B.C. to the end of the independent political and religious life of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom in 14-th century. Through them you can trace the development of the material and spiritual culture and the historical processes taking place in a certain historical moment in the community of the region of today’s Montana.
 
     Collections:

• A very rich collection of prehistoric tools made of flint, stone and bones – flint promenades, knives, blades for sickles and arrows, stone hammers and axes, mattocks and awls from stag horns;
• Collections of zoomorphous and anthropomorphous religious plastic arts made of clay and bones;
• A rich collection of Thracian pottery – for religious and everyday necessities, including almost the whole known variety of forms and vessels decoration;
• Collection of Thracian battle equipment from the end of the late iron age;
• The Yakimovo Treasure – four bowls, two appliques for a bowl, two bracelets with ends formed like snake heads, kantharus – made of solid silver with gilded ornaments;
• Collection of Roman ceramics, glass and bronze vessels for religious and everyday necessities;
• Rich collection of Roman coins – bronze, silver and golden;
• Representative for the local jeweller tradition collection of medieval silver and gilded ornaments and decorations – 12-th – 14-th century;
• A big collective find of medieval copper coins (skipheus*) of the emperors Manuel I Comnenus (1143-1180), Andronicus I Comnenus (1183-1185), Isaak II Angelus (1185-1195), Alexius III Angelus - Comnenus (1195-1203), as well as Bulgarian imitative coin striking.

      *skipheus - cup-shaped coin first used in Byzantium.
 
 
 
     More than 10 000 exponents, connected to the material, political and spiritual life of the people from the northwest Bulgarian lands during the time of the Ottoman rule and the Bulgarian renaissance are preserved here.
     Of particular interest are the collections of old printed books, icons and church plates, in which the aspiration of the local bulgarians for knowledge and artistic achievements have found an expression. The authors could be either anonymous, distinctive masters or famous artists with a great contribution to our national culture.
 
 
 
 
     The department preserves objects from the material and spiritual culture of the people from Montana and the region, dating from 18-th to the first half of 20-th century. They are separated in rich collections with the following accents:

• The Chiprovtsi goldsmith schoool;
• The Chiprovtsi carpet-makers school;
• Berkovitsa pottery;
• Traditional garment and cloths.

 
 
     The department preserves cultural valuables from the period from the end of 19-th to the middle of 20-th century. The rich photographic and documental material presents the life in the town and the region of those days. The most interesting collections are:

• Coins and bank-notes from the Third Bulgarian Kingdom;
• Post cards;
• Charters and medals;
• Weapon – shotguns, bayonets and revolvers used by the Bulgarian army prior to World War the second.

 
 
     The department preserves:

• Samples and catalogues from the industrial production in Montana region;
• Photos, displaying the latest history of the town and the region;
• Charters, medals and distinctive signs of the Peoples Republic of Bulgaria (1946 – 1990);
• Documents and other matterial, connected with the activities of the actor Stefan Savov, the opera singer Siika Petrova and Yordanka Blagoeva – world and european champion in high jump.

     There are also photos, personal belongings and documents, donated by the families of Christo and Ivan Michailov.