The National Museum, in a large neoclassical building near the western end of Congress Square, holds Slovenia's principal archaeological, natural history, and applied arts collections. The prehistoric section is the strongest, including finds from the Vače situla — an elaborately decorated Iron Age bronze bucket from the fifth century BC that is one of the most important Celtic-period artefacts found in Central Europe.
The natural history section covers Slovenian geology, flora, and fauna; the cave bear skeleton in the ground floor hall is a popular exhibit. The museum is large and it is easy to spend two hours here without exhausting the permanent collection.