Yalta historical-literary Museum is the oldest Museum of Ukraine. It was founded in October 1892 in Crimea-Caucasus Mountain club on the basis of the Yalta branch. The idea of creating this Museum belongs to the doctor-climatologist V. N. Dmitriev and A. L. Bartle-Delegate - archaeologist, numismatist, military engineer. In support of this idea were made by many members of the local intelligentsia. For the formation of the Museum were donated exhibits from members of the Mountain club. They mostly consisted of a numismatic collection and geological finds. A special pride of the Museum is the collection of coins of the Bosporan Kingdom and Roman coins found on the territory of Yalta.

In 1905, the Museum has acquired a unique collection of Crimean butterflies, collected over many years by Dr. Schmidt. Thanks to the staff and private donors, the Museum already by 1906 chant 2600 exhibits.

The basis of the archaeological exposition are ancient monuments that belonged to the collection of A. M. Romanov Grand Duke, who was a big fan of archaeology. These monuments were found during the excavations of the ancient Roman building of Charax.

Yalta historical-literary Museum in our day consists of several branches, located in the old mansions, representing monuments of architecture and culture. The Museum exposition acquaints visitors with the life of Yalta XIX-XX centuries. Many exhibits tell about the stay on the territory of Yalta such notable figures as M. P. Mussorgsky, I. A. Bunin, Chekhov, etc. Visitors showing great interest in historical and archaeological Department, as well as ethnographic collections, dedicated to the traditions and culture of the Tatars Crimean southern coast.

2004 marked the opening of the exhibition "Treasures of the Romans, the Greeks, and ready", which presented the unique archaeological finds of the Big Yalta. The exhibition presented the finds from the necropolis of the fifth and tenth centuries, as well as from the sanctuary near Gurzuf Saddle. The main exhibition is complemented by rare editions of books, collections of antique ceramics, prints, paintings, lithographs and objects of decorative art. The modern Museum has more than 135 000 exhibits.