From the apothecary to industry

Until April 28th, the Zagreb City Museum will feature an exhibition - “I, Jacobus Apothecarius – from the apothecary to industry”, which tells the story of the city’s social and cultural development from the perspective of an important profession.

Until April 28th, the Zagreb City Museum will feature an exhibition - “I, Jacobus Apothecarius – from the apothecary to industry”, whereby depicting Zagreb’s pharmaceutical history. Visitors of the exhibition will be given a glimpse into a fascinating profession whose activities are an excellent reflection of the city’s overall social and cultural development.

The exhibits are part of the museum’s holdings which have expanded every year through donations and purchases, while certain items for this exhibition have also been borrowed from other museums and educational institutions of Zagreb. The exhibits tell the tales of the oldest known pharmacies in Zagreb, their products as well as the influence that particular apothecaries exerted on the development of the city. Along with surgeons, barbers and pharmacists, apothecaries were considered tradesmen from as early as the middle ages until the 19th century. Their names, as well as the names of other tradesmen, such as blacksmiths, jewellers, bell-ringers and pot-makers can be found in the earliest written records of the independent burg of Gradec. An alchemy laboratory, featuring a crocodile, a horse skull and a turtle shell has been recreated especially for the exhibition, and also presents old stickers and packaging from the Black Eagle pharmacy once operated by Dante’s great-grandson Niccolo Alighieri in the Upper Town. Visitors can also view a reconstruction of the baroque pharmacy of St. Mary which was opened at Dolac in 1599.  All in all, this is an interesting exhibition, which sets pharmacology in a fascinating technological, social and cultural context. The exhibited items present the history of pharmacology and tell a mesmerizing story of the city’s development from a rather unusual perspective.