Museum of History & Ethnography, Malacca

History & Ethnography Museum, Malacca (1 May, 2009)


Museum of History and Ethnography (GPS: 2.19402, 102.24899), or Muzium Sejarah dan Ethnografi is a museum located within the Stadthuys in Malacca. It is at the foot of St Paul's Hill facing the Dutch Square. If you have time to see only one museum on your visit, this is the one you should not miss.

The history section of this museum that the history of Malacca is unfolded to you step by step, beginning with the founding of Malacca, through the Malacca Sultanate, and onwards to the colonial administrations of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British occupation, followed by the Japanese occupation, and finally the years leading towards independence.

The ethnography section of this museum provides an interesting glimpse into the history of the various ethnic groups that make up the fabric of Malacca society, including the Malays, the Chinese, the Indians, the Peranakan Chinese, the Chitty and the Eurasians. Various aspects of each culture is portraited including wedding ceremonies, musical instruments, and so on.

The Museum of History & Ethnography is on the Map of Museums in Malacca

Getting there

The Museum of History and Ethnography is housed within the Stadthuys.

Exterior porch, Museum of History & Ethnography (1 May, 2009)


The central passage of the Museum of History & Ethnography (1 May, 2009)


Display of swords and other weapons in the History & Ethnography Museum (9 July, 2005)


Swords and keris on display in the History & Ethnography Museum (9 July, 2005)


Pots and other porcelain ware in the History & Ethnography Museum (9 July, 2005)


View of St Paul's Hill in miniature (9 July, 2005)


Old Melaka cannons in the History & Ethnography Museum (19 July, 2009)


Malacca Sultanate Currency (19 July, 2009)
This is how the currency was like during the time of the Malacca Sultanate. No gold coins were discovered during that period, possibly because gold was collected and sent to either Goa or Lisbon.

Museum of History & Ethnography on Google Street View

the Museum of History & Ethnography (May 2014)

Discover Malacca; list of Museums in Malacca and Museums in Malaysia

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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