Pharmazie-Historisches Museum der Universität Basel

Geschichte

The Pharmazie-Historisches Museum in Basel, Switzerland, is dedicated to pharmaceutical history and houses one of the world’s largest collections on the subject. It features ceramic pharmaceutical vessels, complete pharmacy interiors, an alchemistic laboratory, mortars, first-aid kits, books, medications from bygone eras and everything related to the historic manufacture of pharmaceuticals.The museum is a heritage site of national significance. It was founded in 1925 by the pharmacist Josef Anton Häfliger when he donated his collection to the University of Basel. It is located in the historical house "Zum Vorderen Sessel", dating back to the 13th century. The building housed an important printing press owned by Johann Amerbach and Johann Froben, which attracted in the early 16th century the humanist Erasmus as well as the alchemist and doctor Paracelsus.The collection include historical books such as Der Gart der Gesundheyt by Johann de Cuba and New Kreüterbuch by Leonhart Fuchs . It has an important display of ceramics and faience, and one of the world's most extensive collection of obsolete remedies that were commonly used before the 19th century.