German Apothecary Museum

The German Apothecary Museum (Deutsches Apotheken-Museum) is located in the Ottheinrichsbau of Heidelberg Castle at Schlosshof 1, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is a national museum of pharmacy and presents the development of pharmacy and the apothecary's trade from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The collection was assembled in the 20th century from historic pharmacies and private holdings and moved to Heidelberg Castle in 1958, where it occupies rooms on the ground floor and in the cellars of the Renaissance palace built 1556-1559 under Elector Ottheinrich. Visitors see reconstructed pharmacies from different periods, including a Baroque interior, a Gothic-style workshop and rooms furnished in the manner of the 18th and 19th centuries. Typical objects include ceramic and glass storage jars, mortars, scales, drug chests, herbal collections, laboratory equipment and printed pharmacopoeias. A section on alchemy and the early chemistry laboratory shows how pharmacists worked with distillation and extraction. The curatorial approach combines period room settings with thematic displays on medicinal plants, remedies, and the transformation of the apothecary into a modern pharmacist. The museum benefits from the setting, since the vaulted rooms of the castle give the objects an atmospheric backdrop. The Ottheinrichsbau was damaged in 1689 and 1693 and burned out in the 1764 lightning fire, and it was stabilised and restored in the 20th century so it could hold exhibitions. Entry is included in the Schlossticket, so the museum is easily combined with the castle visit, the courtyard and the Great Vat. It is a useful stop for visitors interested in medical and scientific history, and it can be seen in about an hour.