The ethnographic permanent exhibition of the Palóc Museum is based on the rich folk traditions in the region. Farming in Nógrád County had dropped behind the pace of the national development. The specific evolution of the historical and social conditions, the belated industrialisation, and topping it all off, the unfavourable natural factors limited the opportunities for local people. All this together contrib-uted to the fact that the way of life and the culture of the rural peasantry of the region changed slowly, retaining many archaic traits until the beginning of the 20th century.

The permanent exhibition, THE MIRROR OF OUR NATIONAL HISTORY, commemorates the museum founder Ivan Nagy, an erudite European historian, by displaying his library using a specific approach. In addition to the presentation of the library, the most important events of Hungarian history spanning the period from 896 up until 1896 are revealed to the public, in particular the events of Nógrád county. All this is introduced by an outline of the scholar’s career and the period study interior.