The Artsakh State Historical Museum of Local Lore was established during the Soviet period and contains collections covering the archaeology, ethnography, and natural history of the Karabakh region. It holds artifacts from Bronze Age settlements in the surrounding hills, medieval khachkars (Armenian cross-stones), and documents from the Soviet era. The museum operated continuously through the years of Armenian administration and survived both the First and Second Nagorno-Karabakh Wars largely intact.
Its status and operating condition under Azerbaijani administration after the 2023 offensive is subject to change, and travellers should verify current conditions before visiting. Whatever its present arrangement, the building and its collections represent one of the primary repositories of the region's pre-conflict cultural history.