Apothekenmuseum Schiltach
Private pharmacy museum in the former Rats-Apotheke on Schiltach's market square, with a Biedermeier dispensary, laboratory, medicine cellar and curiosities.
About the museum
The Rats-Apotheke on Schiltach's market square was founded in 1837 as the small town's first pharmacy. It occupied one of the old half-timbered houses on the steep market square. The Rath family of pharmacists took over the building and business in 1954; in the mid-1980s the pharmacy moved to larger premises elsewhere, and the old pharmacy closed in 1985.
In June 1989 the family opened the historic rooms as a private museum. Because the furnishings have largely survived, the house offers a direct picture of the daily work of pharmacists in earlier generations. Its centerpiece is the officina, the former salesroom, with Biedermeier fittings in walnut burl.
In the laboratory, storeroom and medicine cellar, numerous instruments show how medicines were once made by hand: pill machines, suppository molds, ointment mills, tablet presses and a large distillation apparatus for distillates, infusions and extracts. Display cases with travel medicine kits, powder boxes, inhalers, early pharmaceutical advertising and curiosities from the 18th and 19th centuries round off the tour. Changing special exhibitions take up topics from pharmacy and medicine. The museum describes itself as the largest private pharmacy museum in Germany.
Highlights
- Original Biedermeier dispensary in walnut burl
- Large distillation apparatus in the medicine cellar
- Pill machines, suppository molds and tablet presses
- Collections of travel medicine kits, powder boxes and pharmaceutical advertising
- Curiosities from three centuries of pharmacy history
Permanent exhibitions
- Offizin der Rats-Apotheke – The preserved Biedermeier-style salesroom with apothecary jars, scales and mortars shows what a rural pharmacy looked like in the 19th century.
- Labor, Arzneikeller und Destillation – Equipment for making pills, suppositories, ointments and tablets, along with a large distillation apparatus, illustrates the manual work pharmacists once did.
- Sammlungen zur Pharmaziegeschichte – Display cases with travel medicine kits, powder boxes, inhalers, pharmaceutical advertising and curiosities from the 18th and 19th centuries.
- Founded
- 1989
- Operated by
- Privat (Familie Rath, Apotheke Rath Schiltach)
Admission & discounts
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: not available
- Elevator: no information
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- 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
Historic half-timbered house with low ceilings and narrow hallways; not accessible.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Schiltach station (Kinzigtalbahn line); Schiltach town bus. The museum is on the market square in the old town.
By car
Free parking
Free public parking around the old town, including Parkplatz Stadtmitte (Schramberger Straße 5, Mon–Fri 8:00–18:00 max. 2 hours), the Parkdeck “Schüttesäge” (Hauptstraße 1) and Parkplatz “Lehwiese” (Am Hirschen 1, also for RVs, without hookups). Bus parking at Parkplatz “Obere Bahnhofsbrücke” (Bahnhofstraße 8).
Amenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Plan your visit
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Guided tours by arrangement (tel. 07836 360); group visits year-round by registration. The town of Schiltach's website offers a 360° virtual tour. |
