The museum idea was born in 1836 at the time of the creation of portraits in the Hall of the Town Hall. But it is really founded in 1977 with the acquisition of an old mansion. It opens its doors in 1982. Following a fire, a project to restructure and expansion was released in January 1995. All work was completed in 2001.
This mansion is the result of the combination of three terraced houses medieval shops. Formerly owned by the family of St. Moris is probably one of the oldest buildings that make up the city today. Olivier de la Marche, the chronicler of Charles the Bold, to have stayed in the 15th century.
The interior has been considerably altered over the centuries. There are only three bays in the 15th century with their supervisors, ceiling joists in the 17th century that some beams are still decorated with plant motifs and views of Pontarlier, a floor cabinet 19th century stained glass windows and a set of early of the 20th century.
Collections retrace part of the history of Pontarlier and the Haut-Doubs since its supposed origins to the 20th century: archeology (prehistory, early history, Middle Ages), French and foreign pottery, painting Grandfather (nineteenth and twentieth centuries ). The museum also mentioned the role of Pontarlier in the history of absinthe.
