The Atyrau Regional Museum of History and Local Lore was established by Resolution No. 23 of the Organizing Committee for the Guryev Region of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR dated July 22, 1939, “On the Opening of a Regional Museum.” The official opening took place on November 5, 1940. The institution was housed in a former church building constructed in 1886. On a total area of 240 square meters, 264 exhibits were presented to visitors.
On September 3, 1999, the museum was relocated to a two-story building of the former Cultural and Educational College on B. Momyshuly Street.
The total area of the building is 2,027 square meters, of which 916.72 square meters are occupied by exhibition halls and 60.4 square meters by storage facilities.
The museum houses 8 exhibition halls:
«Ethnography»;
«History of the region»
«Archaeology»;
«The Great Ulus – The Golden Horde»;
«History of the Region from the 17th Century to the First Half of the 20th Century»;
«Culture and Literature of the Region»;
«Great Patriotic War 1941–1945»;
«History of Kazakhstan’s Independence».
The branches of the Atyrau Regional Museum of History and Local Lore include the City Paleontological Museum in Atyrau, the museums of the Kurmangazy, Isatay, and Inder districts, the museums in the village of Yeltai and the village named after Kh. Yergaliyev, the B. Nysanbaev Museum of Military Glory, as well as the M. Utemisuly Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve.
Along with the formation of collections, the acquisition, preservation, study, and exhibition of its holdings, the Atyrau Regional Museum of History and Local Lore also conducts research in the field of history and archaeology.
The museum’s collections include valuable materials of historical significance: photographic documents, archaeological artifacts, numismatic items, ethnographic and jewelry pieces, weapons, works of fine art, and more.
As of the second quarter of 2025, the collections of the Atyrau Regional Museum of History and Local Lore comprise 66,018 items. Of these, 33,406 belong to the main collection and 32,612 to the auxiliary collection. Taking into account the branches, the total number of items amounts to 102,473 (according to the report for the second quarter of 2025).
