The Museum of Literature and Music was established on 1st March 1969 by District National Committee in Banská Bystrica with the perspective to house the museum in the building, where the Slovak writer Ján Botto lived, worked and died, on Lazovná ulica (street) 11.
The Museum of Literature and Music is currently incorporated as an organisational unit into the State Scientific Library. The museum focuses on documentation of the literary and musical culture of the Banská Bystrica region, to which important personalities of Slovak national culture and art are attached: the 18th-century polymath Matej Bel, Baroque period composer Ján Francisci, (worked in Germany) and instrument builder Michal Búľovský (Bulyowsky), 19th-century Slovak representatives of literature and music Ján Chalupka, Samo Chalupka, Andrej Sládkovič, Ján Botto and Ján Levoslav Bella, 20th-century writers Terézia Vansová, Jozef-Gregor Tajovský, Ludo Mistrík-Ondrejov, František Švantner, Peter Karvaš, Mikuláš Kováč, Štefan Žáry, literary scientist Alexander Matuška, composer Viliam Figuš-Bystrý, Ján Cikker, Andrej Ocenáš, Šimon Jurovský, Tibor Andrašovan, Svetozár Stračina and many others.
A specific part of the museum is literary club LITERA2.
There are 5 expositions waiting for visitors: – 3 expositions in the premises of the State Scientific Library (hereinafter “ŠVK”)
* Museum –Muses’ domicile,
* Puppet salon,
* Folk musical instruments in Slovakia;
– J.G.Tajovský Memorial House in Tajov;
– Pavel Tonkovič Memorial Room in Podkonice