Bhuri Singh Museum: Repository of Chamba art & culture

Chamba, April 8

The Bhuri Singh Museum here is one of the oldest museums in India. The artefacts and historical documents available here are the centre of attraction for researchers and tourists to get acquainted with the rich tradition and glorious history of the Chamba region.

35K visitors every year

• Over 6,500 items are on display in its six galleries, reflecting the rich heritage, folk art and culture of Chamba region
• Around 35,000 tourists, including researchers, from India and abroad visit the museum every year, which was set up in 1908

The museum was established on September 14, 1908. Raja Bhuri Singh, ruler of Chamba from 1904 to 1919, donated family portraits and many royal objects of archaeological importance to the museum.

There are six galleries in the museum, including archaeological gallery, miniature paintings gallery, anthropology gallery and wood art gallery. Weaponry of the olden times is also on display here.

The museum has over 6,500 items on display that reflect the rich heritage, folk art and culture of Chamba. These include ancient inscriptions, copper plates and manuscripts in Sharda, Tankari, Bhoti, Gurumukhi and Persian scripts.

Chamba rumals, coins dating back to the 1st century, pahari ornaments and musical instruments are also on display here.

Curator Narender Kumar said the museum was established in 1908 by the then Director General of Archaeological Survey of India, J Ph Vogel, who came to Chamba on the request of Raja Bhuri Singh. Seeing the rich cultural heritage of Chamba, he asked Raja Bhuri Singh to set up a museum to preserve those things. “Around 35,000 tourists from India and abroad visit this museum every year,” he said.