Construction started in 1874, based on a design by architect G. Katsaros, though at times it has been considered the work of the famous Danish architect Theophilus Hansen, who had undertaken several projects in the area at that time. The building was completed on 23 January 1876. Today, the museum hosts thousands of findings from the province of Lacedaemon, along with material from other areas of the entire prefecture of Laconia which has not been included in the archaeological collections of the museums in Gytheion and Neapolis-Vion.
The exhibits cover a quite extensive period between the Neolithic and the Later Roman eras, with the findings from the great sanctuaries of Ancient Sparta holding the most prominent position in the collection. Visitors to the museum will have the opportunity to admire material retrieved from the sites of the most significant pre-historical settlements of Laconia, sculptures ranging from Archaic to Roman, found at various locations within the prefecture, along with artefacts from rescue excavations, the most important of which are the remains of Roman mosaic floors from the polis of Sparta. In addition to the artefacts, and the decorative and everyday objects, the museum exhibition includes a few though extremely valuable epigraphs, which provide fascinating fragments of history about the entire area.
