Himachal State Museum and Library is situated in Shimla, the hill town of Himachal Pradesh. The natural beauty of the summer capital of India attracts tourists from all over the world. Tourists who are interested about the rich past of Shimla visits the Himachal State Museum and Library. The Museum was founded in the year of 1974. Himachal State Museum contains amazing and rare collection of ancient historical sculptures, paintings, coins, manuscripts, photos, books and other things from all over the state and outside. These collections unfold the history of art and culture of Shimla. The collection of Pahari painting in the Himachal State Museum deserves special mention. The Pahari miniature paintings tell the story of Pahari life.
There is also a huge collection of Mughal and Rajasthani paintings. The museum contains the sculptural values of the 8th century stone works of Masrur and Bajaura. There are more than 1500 valuable items, housed in this museum.
Himachal State Museum is divided into several galleries including Pre Historic Gallery (consists of ancient stone age tools as well as models of extinct animals), Wood-Carving Gallery (consists of remaining wood panels of ancient temples and traditional wood artistry and stone work), Archaeology Gallery (consists of sculptural works and terracotta stuffs of Maurya, Shunga and Gupta period), Wall Painting Gallery (consists of wall painting of the Rang Mahal of Chamba), Numismatic Gallery (extensive collection of the coins of Himachal Pradesh). Besides, there are also Himachal Archaeological Gallery, Pahari Miniature Painting Gallery, Photographs Gallery and Rajasthan Miniature Painting Gallery. Himachal State Museum is open in all weekdays from 10 AM to 5 PM except Mondays.
