In 1899, the first state museum, the historical one, was founded in Fergana. It had just a few rooms in an old building with some archaeological artifacts, costumes, and household items on display.

Today, the Fergana Regional Museum of Local Lore is one of the oldest museums in Uzbekistan. It is a great treasury of unique exhibits that reveal the mysterious and magnificent past of the Fergana Valley and its diverse culture where ancient local customs intertwine with traditions brought to these lands by foreign merchants.

Currently, the museum collection has more than 80 000 exhibits of both the oldest and the newest history of Uzbekistan. Here you can trace how the country developed, when it faced difficulties, and how these changes affected the life and culture of the locals.

For a long time, the Fergana Museum was cooped up in a small room of a worn-out house. But in 1985, it received a special new building, which met all the requirements for the preservation of priceless exhibits.

One of the most demonstrative and interesting museum expositions is a large collection of documents, photographs, and glass negatives revealing the way of life of the Fergana Valley starting from the second half of the 19th century. It is very interesting to see what the city streets looked like more than a hundred years ago, what clothes ordinary people wore, in which stores they made their purchases.

Along with priceless photographs, the exhibition includes rich collections of local fine art, ceramics, jewelry, and, of course, fabrics, for which Uzbekistan is so famous.

For those interested in more ancient historical finds, the archaeological collection, which has more than 11 000 exhibits, will be a must-see. Thanks to it, you can trace the history of the Fergana Valley from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages.

No less interesting is the collection of manuscripts, including the most ancient ones: the letters of the Kokand khans, and the handwritten Koran books. The most precious museum collection is in the numismatics department displaying coins, with the oldest being almost 2 000 years old.