Apotekersamlingen

About the museum

The Apotekersamlingen goes back to the Svaneapoteket, which was run from about 1670 to 2013 on the ground floor of Jens Bangs Stenhus in downtown Aalborg. The splendid merchant's house was built in 1623–24 and is among the best-preserved Renaissance buildings in Denmark. Over generations, discarded furnishings of the pharmacy – cabinets, drawers, vessels, and medicines – made their way to the attic of the house.

The pharmacist Sigurd Carl Strøyberg (1902–1986), the last to both run the pharmacy and own the building, systematically kept goods that disappeared from the assortment. This created a collection of almost 7,000 objects including furnishings, medicines, instruments, and archival materials, which belongs to a foundation named after him. In 2001 the Aalborg Historiske Museum, today part of the Nordjyske Museer, took over its professional care, registered and dated the holdings, and reorganized them until 2005.

Since then the collection has been accessible on guided tours on the fifth floor of the building. It tells about 350 years of pharmacy history with remedies from the 17th to the 19th century, including such exotic substances as dragon's blood, powdered mummies, or strychnine, but also coffee, tea, and spices that were once sold in the pharmacy. In the former pharmacy rooms on the ground floor, the Nordjyske Museer now show a freely accessible exhibition and run a museum shop.

Highlights

• Preserved furnishings of the Svaneapoteket in the pharmacy attic
• Around 2,000 different historical medicines
• Curious remedies such as theriac, Lapis Divinus, and plasters made from Spanish flies
• Renaissance building Jens Bangs Stenhus of 1623–24

Permanent exhibitions

• Apotekersamlingen – Original furnishings and medicine stocks of the Svaneapoteket in the attic of Jens Bangs Stenhus, presented on a one-hour tour through 350 years of pharmacy history.

Operated by

Nordjyske Museer

Admission & discounts

The exhibition on the ground floor is free. The tour of the Apotekersamlingen costs DKK 100 including a DKK 15 ticket fee.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: not available
• Elevator: not available
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: not available
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The collection on the fifth floor is reachable only by stairs; there is no elevator and no other access for wheelchairs or strollers. Toilets are on the fifth floor at the entrance to the collection. Service dogs cannot be brought in. The attic is unheated; warm clothing is recommended in the winter half-year.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly: not available

At times there are family tours for children from about age 7, in which tablets are made using old methods and ingredients are weighed on an apothecary's scale. Strollers cannot be taken along because of the stairs.

Getting there & parking

Jens Bangs Stenhus is located on Østerågade in the center of Aalborg.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop in the former pharmacy rooms on the ground floor.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit