České farmaceutické muzeum

About the museum

The České farmaceutické muzeum (Czech Pharmaceutical Museum) was established on 1 July 1994 as a branch of the Faculty of Pharmacy of Charles University in Hradec Králové. It took over the faculty’s historical collection, library and archive, and was to set up a museum exhibition of the pharmacist’s profession in the hospital at Kuks. The idea arose in the early 1970s, when a use was being sought for the vacated spaces of the hospital. Kuks was chosen partly because a Baroque hospital pharmacy had operated here since 1743; it was run by the Order of the Brothers of Mercy until 1938, and it still ranks among the rare monuments of European pharmacy.

The museum’s collection has diverse origins. The oldest objects come from the collection of the Pharmaceutical Society in Prague from 1883; others came to the museum from earlier pharmacy museums and from gifts from pharmacist families and pharmacies. It comprises medicines and products of the pharmaceutical industry, pharmacy vessels and packaging, production tools and instruments, pharmacy furniture, photographs, posters and almost a thousand ex libris (bookplates) of Czech and Slovak pharmacists. It also includes an extensive archive and the largest historical pharmaceutical library in the Czech Republic.

The first part of the exhibition, Magic of the Apothecary (Kouzlo apatyky), opened on 18 May 1996, and the second part on 9 June 2001. It shows the development of the pharmacy dispensary from the 17th to the 20th century and also covers military pharmacy, drug production, prescription literature, the wholesale trade in medicines and the relationship between pharmacy and art. As part of the tour, visitors can try, for example, grinding in a mortar, working with a historical cash register or making tablets. The second exhibition, From the Apothecary to the Factory (Z apatyky do fabriky), shows the path from pharmacy production to factory machines.

Highlights

• The exhibition Magic of the Apothecary (Kouzlo apatyky) on the development of pharmacies from the Baroque to the 20th century
• Baroque pharmacy from 1743 in the hospital of the Brothers of Mercy
• The exhibition From the Apothecary to the Factory on drug production
• The chance to try grinding in a mortar, a historical cash register or hand-making tablets
• The largest historical pharmaceutical library in the Czech Republic

Permanent exhibitions

• Kouzlo apatyky – historie lékáren – The exhibition traces the development of pharmacies from the Baroque to the 20th century and also covers research, education and military pharmacy; it includes the hospital’s Baroque pharmacy.
• Z apatyky do fabriky – historie výroby léků – The exhibition on the ground floor of the hospital shows drug production, from the pharmacy to industrial production in factories.

Founded

1994

Operated by

Univerzita Karlova, Farmaceutická fakulta v Hradci Králové

Admission & discounts

The prices stated apply to the exhibition History of Pharmacies (Magic of the Apothecary). The ticket office is shared with the Kuks hospital, where tickets for other tour routes can also be bought; a combined pass for the History of Pharmacies and History of Drug Production routes cannot be used.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The entire hospital complex, including the ticket office and the tour routes with the pharmaceutical exhibitions, is step-free and has a lift; on the paths in the herb garden, wheelchair wheels may get stuck. Two reserved parking spaces are located in the car park approached from the direction of Brod nad Labem and Slotova. For blind visitors there is a tactile book and a tactile plan of the site. Guide dogs and assistance dogs may enter with the consent of the site management; on some routes their movement is restricted for operational reasons. For visitors with hearing impairments, a printed text of the main route is available to borrow free of charge.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations
• Baby changing facilities

Visitors can try for themselves grinding in a mortar, working with the historical cash register, making a label, making tablets with a hand-operated machine or pressing suppositories. At the ticket office there is a baby changing table in a cubicle for wheelchair users. Children under 5 enter free; children under 15 must be accompanied by an adult.

Getting there & parking

By car along motorway D11 towards Hradec Králové – Heřmanice – Kuks. From Hradec Králové to Kuks there is a 26 km cycle path suitable for pushchairs too; bicycle stands are in front of the ticket office, in the courtyard and in front of the Hospoda Na Sýpce.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Lockers

At the ticket office there is a self-service left-luggage locker (locked with a CZK 10 coin); souvenirs are sold at the ticket office and in the Bylinkářství herbal shop in the courtyard, and payment is possible in cash or by card. Toilets are free. Refreshments are offered by restaurants in Kuks, for example Hospoda Na Sýpce, Hostinec U zlatého slunce and Restaurace Baroque.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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