The building, constructed in the style of a medieval secular building in 1938 by the Weimar architect Ostermann, was opened as a museum in 1950 and listed as a historical monument in 1988.

The museum emerged from the Vogtländische Altertumsforschenden Verein zu Hohenleuben, one of the oldest German historical societies, which was founded in 1825. It houses the following collections: Early history, local history, crafts, natural history, geology, exhibition on the farmer general Georg Kresse. The museum presents several special exhibitions each year. It also houses a scientific library with around 40,000 volumes of local history literature from the entire German-speaking region as well as special collections on Prussian and Vogtland history.