Leta 1951 so v takratnem Mestnem muzeju Celje ustanovili oddelek za zgodovino narodnoosvobodilne borbe. Po desetletju intenzivnega razvoja je oddelek leta 1963 prerasel v samostojno kulturno ustanovo – Muzej revolucije Celje. Svoje prostore je dobil v poslopju nekdanjega celjskega magistrata (magistrat je bil v tej stavbi v letih 1830–1963) in v zaporih Starega piskra (tu je bilo med 2. svetovno v
ojno ustreljenih 374 talcev), kjer je predstavil zgodovino Celja in celjske regije v letih 1918–1945. Poleg stalne razstave je to obdobje zaznamovala bogata razstavna, izdajateljska in publicistična dejavnost strokovnih delavcev muzeja. Sčasoma je muzej začel širiti svoje zbirke in usmerjati svojo pozornost tudi v zbiranje in raziskovanje življenja po letu 1945. Posebej se je začel posvečati šolski mladini, ki je bila v sedemdesetih in začetku osemdesetih let njegov najštevilnejši obiskovalec. Prelomnico v razvoju muzeja tako predstavlja leto 1979, ko je muzej pridobil dodatne prostore, v letih 1987–1989 pa so v njih postavili stalno razstavo o razvoju mesta Celja po drugi svetovni vojni. Zaradi vsebinske razširitve dela se je muzej leta 1991 tudi formalno preimenoval v Muzej novejše zgodovine Celje. To je bil čas, ko se je začenjala oblikovati samostojna država Slovenija, zato je tudi naš muzej v kontekstu nove zbiralne politike začel z iskanjem nove vloge v svojem okolju. Danes je Muzej novejše zgodovine Celje regionalni zgodovinski muzej, ki se ukvarja z zbiranjem, hranjenjem, dokumentiranjem in razstavljanjem zgodovine Celja in Celjskega v 20. Različne vsebine iz življenja ga delajo prepoznavnega, prav zaradi njih je prerasel v kompleksen muzej. Zaradi številnih in raznovrstnih aktivnosti je med najbolj živahnimi v Sloveniji, našim obiskovalcem pa so poleg pestrih kulturnih programov na voljo tudi muzejska trgovina, slaščičarna in kavarna. In 1951 the Celje City Museum founded a department for the history of the National Liberation Struggle. After a decade of intensive progress the department developed into an independent cultural institution - The Celje Museum of Revolution - in 1963. Its premises were in the building of the former Celje city hall (the city hall was in this building between 1830 and 1963) and in the 'Stari pisker' prison (where 374 hostages were shot during WW II), where it presented the history of Celje and its region from 1918 to 1945. Besides the permanent exhibition this period was marked by rich museological, publishing and promotional activities of professional museum workers. With time the museum began to expand its collection and focus its attention on collecting and researching life after 1945 as well. It especially focused on school children, who were its most numerous visitors in the 1970s and in the beginning of the 1980s. The turning point in the museum’s development was the year 1979, when the museum acquired new premises, where the permanent exhibition on the development of Celje after World War II was prepared in 1987-1989. Due to the expansion of work the museum was formally renamed the Celje Museum of Recent History in 1991. This was the time when Slovenia became an independent country and our museum accordingly adopted a new collecting policy and began to search for a new role. Today the Celje Museum of Recent History is a regional historical museum which collects, preserves, records and exhibits the history of Celje and the Celje region in the 20th century. Various real life subject matters make the museum stand out and contribute to its complexity. Due to its numerous and versatile activities the museum is among the most lively museums in Slovenia. Beside rich culture programmes, visitors can also browse through the museum shop and visit the patisserie and cafeteria.
