Apteekkimuseo ja Qwenselin talo

About the museum

Qwenselin talo is an old gentry house at Herrainkulma on the western bank of the Aura River. It takes its name from its first known owner, Wilhelm Johan Qwensel, who bought the plot in 1695. The area escaped the fire of Turku in 1827, and the following year the merchant-skipper (kauppalaivuri) Nils Friedrich Tjäder bought the house and turned it into a merchant’s house. One of the best-known residents of the house was the professor of medicine Joseph Gustav Pipping, who lived there from 1789 to 1815. The present interior of the residential part represents his era in the Rococo and Gustavian styles.

Turku’s pharmacists collected objects in the early 20th century and dreamed of a museum. The Turun proviisorikerho (Turku Pharmacists’ Club) decided to establish a pharmacy museum on 13 December 1938. The collection found its place when the Turun historiallinen museo (Turku Historical Museum) decided in the 1950s to preserve the Qwensel house for future generations, and the pharmacy museum opened in 1958. No pharmacy has ever operated in the buildings of the Qwensel house; the collection has been gathered from all over Finland.

The pharmacy collection presents pharmacy practice in the 19th century, when medicines were made by hand in the pharmacy’s workrooms. The shop, or officina, contains the oldest pharmacy shop fittings in Finland, from the old pharmacy in Oulu, dating from 1858; the ensemble also includes two laboratories and an herb room for drying plants.

Highlights

• The oldest pharmacy shop fittings in Finland, from 1858
• Two laboratories and an herb room
• Gentry home furnished in Pipping’s time
• Children’s pharmacy in the inner courtyard of the Qwensel house
• Café Qwensel in the museum’s courtyard
• Public guided tours in summer daily at 14:00

Permanent exhibitions

• Apteekkimuseo – A glimpse into pharmacy practice in the 19th century: shop fittings from 1858, two laboratories and an herb room.
• Qwenselin talo – The residential and outbuildings of the gentry house, whose furnishings depict the time of Professor Pipping from the late 18th century onwards.

Founded

1958

Operated by

Turun kaupunginmuseo

Visitors per year

approx. 20,000

Admission & discounts

Free admission: Free Fridays 14:00–17:00: 25 September, 30 October and 27 November 2026.

Free admission for Turku residents in primary and secondary school groups, and for holders of the Museokortti (Finnish Museum Card), ICOM card and press card. Payment methods: cash, the most common bank and credit cards, ePassi and Edenred.

Accessibility

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

The museum can only be entered from the Läntinen Rantakatu side through a grey wooden gate, whose paving is uneven and sloping, so access requires help from an attendant. The entrance and the thresholds of the exhibition spaces have ramps, but the route through the old wooden house is not entirely barrier-free, and moving around in a wheelchair requires an assistant. There is one accessible toilet; the customer service areas have an induction loop. The nearest LE (accessible) parking space is on Kristiinankatu. Sign-language guidance is available as a video.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area

The children’s pharmacy is a play pharmacy in the inner courtyard of the Qwensel house, where children can play pharmacist and customer, write prescriptions and make pills. The play pharmacy is open on weekends in May 10:00–18:00, and from June to August Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00. Family ticket €16.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on the bank of the Aura River near Auransilta, about 200 m from the Market Square.

Amenities & dining

• Café
• Museum shop
• Coat check

Café Qwensel serves home-made savoury and sweet pastries in the style of the 18th century, in the café rooms and in the museum yard. Museum shop. Pushchairs can be left in the cloakroom area.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit