In 1865, at the time of the celebration of the 500th anniversary of Novo Mesto, the first ideas were formed for the foundation of the Museum of Dolenjska, which was supposed to collect different testimonies from the history of Novo Mesto and the Dolenjska region. However, it was not until eighty-five years later that the establishment of the museum actually took place on the initiative of the Museum Society, founded in 1941. By a written order of 1 June 1950, the People's Committee of the Ljubljana District turned the museum over to the jurisdiction of the People's Committee of the Novo Mesto District. Today this date is celebrated as the official founding date of the Museum of Dolenjska and honoured publicly with a day of open doors, a rich programme lasting the entire day and, since 1996, a traditional exhibition titled "From the Repositories of the Museum of Dolenjska".
The collections of the Museum of Dolenjska were put on display for the first time in 1953 in the Križatija Building, which has also hosted the seat of the museum since 1951. Since then the museum has developed into a general Slovenian regional museum with archaeological and ethnological collections, cultural history and art history departments, including the Jakac House, a recent history collection, an education department and a separate unit in Kočevski Rog. The museum complex has expanded from one to four buildings, where three permanent collections are on display: archaeological, ethnological and modern history collections. In addition, the Museum Gallery - as the central exhibition area - frequently presents major museum exhibitions. 
Special feature:
Bronze situlae with ornate decorations illustrating ceremonial processions, funerals, hunting scenes, banquets, a duel, and lovemaking