Role of the Dispensary @museum.de

The largest room, usually the only one with customer access, is the dispensary – the pharmacy’s sales room. In the past, the dispensary was also where individually formulated medicines were prepared. The pharmacists stored the ingredients in the wall cupboards and drawers.

Today, the shelves and repositories contain mainly finished medicinal products. The drawers similarly hold headache tablets, cold remedies and other medication. The counter marks the dividing line; behind it are pharmacy-only remedies, which have to be stored and displayed beyond the customers’ reach. Any products in front of the sales counter, on the other hand, are freely accessible.

Have you noticed the many pharmaceutical storage vessels on the shelves? They were typical of a historical dispensary and are organised by product groups and sizes. The chairs on the sales floor were important items of furniture. At a time when many remedies were actually prepared at the chemist’s, patients had to wait until they were ready – even at night.

The dispensary’s furnishings are a wonderful example of cabinet-making from 1950. They were installed when the great-grandmother of current owner and museum founder Eric Martin took over the pharmacy.

You’ll find the next stop by the window next to the entrance, where we’ll tell you something about the history of the people who first started running Obertor Pharmacy in 1750.