Established in 1968, in the renovated ancient Ta-dzong building, above Rinpung Dzong under the command of His Majesty, the King Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, the third hereditary Monarch of Bhutan.

[1] The necessary infrastructure was created to house some of the finest specimens of Bhutanese art, including masterpieces of bronze statues and paintings.

Today, the National Museum has in its possession over 3,000 works of Bhutanese art, covering more than 1,500 years of Bhutan's cultural heritage.

Its rich holdings of various creative traditions and disciplines, represent a remarkable blend of the past with the present and is a major attraction for local and foreign visitors.

[2] The genesis of the museum movement in Bhutan can be traced back to the establishment of monasteries and temples beginning with the construction of Paro Kyichhu Lhakhang and Bumthang Jampal Lhakhang in the 7th century AD by the 33rd Buddhist King of Tibet, Srongtsan Gampo.