The Museum was founded in 1953 and includes the following collections of exhibits:

1. Byzantine-Mediaeval collection, Byzantine, Venetian and Turkish sculptures and inscriptions, wall paintings (13th-16th cent.), sacred vessels and vestments, coins, jewellery and miniature work of the Byzantine and Venetian period. Also the only existing painting in Crete by Domenicos Theotokopoulos (El Greco) entitled "View of Mount Sinai and the Monastery".

2.Historical Collection: Relics of the Cretan revolutions of the 19th century and of the Cretan State (1898-1913). Flags, arms, portaits of heroes of the patriotic struggles, jewellery, engravings, furniture, costumes, maps, memontoes. Also historic documents and a collection of photographs.

3. Folk art collection: Hundreds of representative samples of Cretan folk art(women and embroidered articles, Lace, costimes, jewellery, miniature work, musical instruments etc). Reproduction of the interior of an old Cretan rule house.

4. Nikos Kazantzakis Room: the desk, library, personal mementoes and manuscripts of many of the works of the great writer.

5. Tsouderos Room: the desk, library and personal mementoes of the Prime Minister of the Battle of Grete, engravings, maps, rare editions and a collection of Cretan postage stamps.