The Museum was established on November 3rd 1834, at the initiative of the brother of the King Alexandru Ghica, the Great Count Mihalache Ghica, who donated important collections, including Greek, Roman and Byzantine coins, rock and mineral, fossils, mollusk, fish, birds and mammals collections, as well as works of art. Although it was first conceived as a natural history cabinet, the museum became a mixed institution, harboring antiquities, old paintings and natural curiosities.