The Aceh Museum is a place not to be missed while visiting Banda Aceh. Located on Jalan Sultan Alaidin Mahmudsyah, Banda Aceh, the museum houses a variety of historical heritage of Aceh society trinkets since the prehistoric era. Here we can find many different types of implements, farm equipment, household appliances, traditional weapons and traditional clothing. In the museum we can also find a wide collection of ancient manuscripts, photo documentation of the history and development of the mockup of the great mosque of Baiturrahman.
The Museum was founded during the reign of the Netherlands East Indies. The inauguration was conducted on July 31, 1915, by the civil and military Governor of Aceh General H.N. A Swart. The Museum is headed by FW Stammeshaus who served as head of the Museum while Curators until 1931. At that time, the museum is shaped just a traditional house Aceh (House) whose existence is still retained in the yard area. Buildings made from this wood house-shaped stage with peg construction system that can flexibly tide dismantled.
This House was previously performed in the colonial exhibition (De Koloniale Tentoonsteling) which takes place in Semarang in the previous year. In the exhibition, most of the collections in the Pavilion of Aceh is a personal collection of Stammeshaus plus a wide collection of heirlooms relics of the Sultanate of Aceh. In this exhibition, the House gained a boon as Annex best with the acquisition of 4 gold medals, 11 silver and 3 bronze for various categories.
Among the collections of the museum are quite popular this is a Bell that his age had reached 1400 years. Bell is named ' Bell of Cakra Donya merupakkan ' which is a gift from the Emperor of China from the Ming dynasty to the Sultan of Pasai in the 15th century, gifted way muhibah Admiral Muhammad Cheng Ho. Bell brought to Aceh while Sultan Ali Mughayat Syah from the Aceh Sultanate conquered Pasai in the year 1524 M.
After Indonesia became independent, the Aceh Museum belong to the Aceh local government management was turned over to the local Government of TK. II Banda Aceh. In 1969 on the initiative of t. Hamza Bendahara, Aceh Museum was moved from the old place (Blang Padang) into place now, at Jalan Sultan Alaidin Mahmudsyah at 10,800 m2 of land. After this transfer management submitted to Governing Body Builder Iskandarmuda Clumps (BAPERIS).
In line with the Government's program of cultural development, especially the development of the permuseuman, since the year 1974 the Museum Aceh has got the cost of the lamp through the project of rehabilitation and expansion of the Museum Aceh. Through the project the lamp has successfully rehabilitated the old building and simultaneously with the procurement of new buildings. The new building has been established that the building of the permanent exhibition, Conference Hall, building temporary exhibition and the library, laboratory and Home Office.
In addition to constructing/building Museum, with the cost of the lamps has also sought to increase its procurement of collection, the existing collection. The collection has been gathered, can gradually held research and the results are published in order to widely publicized
In line with the specified Lamp program, Governor of Aceh and the body builders of the clumps of Iskandar Muda (BAPERIS) the Centre has issued a joint Decree on september 2, 1975 the number 538/1976 and SKEP/IX/1976 the contents of the approval of the surrender Museum to Ministry of education and Culture to serve as the State Museum of the province, which is under the responsibility of the Ministry of education and culture. The will of the local Government to make the Museum Aceh as the province's new State Museum can be direalisir three years later, the appearance of the Decree of Minister of education and culture of the Republic of Indonesia, on 28 May 1979, number 093/0/ 1979 calculated from 28 May 1979 status has become a State Museum. New opening can be implemented a year later or rather on 1 September 1980 by the Ministry of education and culture Daoed Yoesoef Dr.
Appropriate government regulation number 25 year 2000 about the authority of the Government and authorities of the provinces as autonomous regions article 3 paragraph 5 f 10 grains, then the authority of the Organization of the State Museum of the province of Aceh is under local government Level I the province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (Aceh province).