The idea of ​​creating a museum in Staraya Ladoga arose at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, after another surge of interest in national history associated with the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of Rus', and then the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty.

However, interest in the antiquities of Staraya Ladoga arose at the beginning of the 18th century. Then some archaeological excavations were carried out. These studies were quickly forgotten, but the romantic ruins of the Staraya Ladoga fortress at the end of the 18th century attracted the attention of the artistic and later scientific community.

In the middle of the 19th century. monuments of ancient Russian church architecture with unique fresco painting were discovered in Ladoga. In the second half of this century, prehistoric antiquities in the area of ​​Lakes Ladoga and Onega were studied by St. Petersburg University professor A. A. Inostrantsev. In the 80s of the XIX century. in the Staraya Ladoga fortress, on the surrounding medieval funeral monuments and on the foundations of ancient Russian churches, the expedition of N.E. carried out work. Brandenburg. The result of the research was the monograph “Old Ladoga” published in 1896.

During the work of 1909 - 1913. N.I. Repnikov discovered a unique archaeological cultural layer at the Zemlyanoy settlement. The study of Ladoga antiquities has been carried out throughout the past century and continues today. All these works had a serious public resonance. Already at the beginning of the 20th century. The need to create an institution in Staraya Ladoga for the registration, description and protection of monuments was recognized. Eminent citizens of the Novoladoga district took measures to revive Ladoga churches and organize a number of cultural and educational institutions. The events of the First World War and the 1917 revolution did not allow these plans to be realized.

During Soviet power, monitoring of the complex of architectural monuments of Staraya Ladoga was entrusted to the Administration of the Novgorod State Museums, Leningrad State University, and the architecture department of the Leningrad Oblast Executive Committee, and only in 1966 was it decided to create a network of museums in the cities of the Leningrad region, which included Staraya Ladoga. The first full-fledged exhibition of the Staraya Ladoga Museum opened in the Gate Tower of the fortress on July 15, 1971. From this date his new story began. Thirteen years later, the museum in Staraya Ladoga received the status of a historical, architectural and archaeological museum-reserve, which includes more than 130 cultural heritage sites: monuments of archaeology, architecture, history, and monumental painting.