Museum Arzney-Küche
Preserved 19th-century pharmacist's laboratory in Bönnigheim – on the role of alcohol as a medicine, solvent, and preservative.
About the museum
Behind the building at Kirchstraße 22 in Bönnigheim stands a small laboratory building that the pharmacist Georg Völter had built around 1843 so that medicines no longer had to be prepared outdoors in all weather. In the same year, Völter gave up his pharmacy, and the remote laboratory fell into oblivion.
The dilapidated building was not rediscovered until 1987 during renovation work. After the room with its sandstone groin vault and hearth was restored, the museum opened in September 2002, operated by the town of Bönnigheim together with the Historische Gesellschaft Bönnigheim (historical society).
The exhibition shows how alcohol was used in pharmacy as an active ingredient, solvent, and preservative, and explains the working methods of pharmacists, alchemists, and herbalists. On display are copper stills on cast-iron stoves, a steam-powered still with condenser, percolators for herbal extracts, scales, sieves, cutting machines, and presses, as well as an old chest of drawers from a pharmacy in Darmstadt. In content, the museum complements the Swabian Schnapps Museum in town. The small museum is open only on a few summer Sundays and by arrangement.
Highlights
- The only surviving pharmacist's laboratory of its kind in Baden-Württemberg
- Vaulted room with historic hearth
- Copper distillation apparatus and steam-powered still
- Herbal percolators, scales, and presses
- Founded
- 2002
- Operated by
- Stadt Bönnigheim und Historische Gesellschaft Bönnigheim
Admission & discounts
| Adults | €1 |
|---|---|
| Groups | –Group tour flat rate €30 (maximum 30 people). |
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Bus lines 553/554 to and from Bietigheim-Bissingen, 574 to and from Kirchheim am Neckar and Besigheim, and 666 to and from Brackenheim; nearest train stations Kirchheim (Neckar) and Bietigheim-Bissingen.
By car via the A 81, exit Mundelsheim, to Kirchheim am Neckar and from there toward Bönnigheim.
Get directionsAmenities & 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 | Group tours by arrangement via the Historische Gesellschaft Bönnigheim (tel. 07143 22563). |
