Kaunas

The Museum of the History of Lithuanian Medicine & Pharmacy stands as Lithuania's premier repository of pharmaceutical and medical heritage, housed in a meticulously restored 16th-century merchant's building at Kaunas' historic Town Hall Square since 1987, though originally established in 1936 by Professor Alfonsas Kaikaris, a distinguished pharmacy educator. This remarkable institution, sponsored by the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (formerly Kaunas University of Medicine), presents an authentic reconstruction of a late 19th-century Lithuanian town pharmacy through its carefully organized exposition featuring an oficina (prescription room), coctoria (preparation room), materials storage room, laboratory, and basement, each filled with period-appropriate pharmaceutical equipment, medicine jars, and traditional herbal preparations. The museum's extraordinary collection encompasses personal belongings of Lithuanian doctors and pharmacists, hospital and pharmacy establishments' artifacts, medical implements spanning several centuries, and fascinating historical curiosities including archaic medications such as Erektosan (a herbal precursor to Viagra), love potions, Venus Hair Potion, and medieval remedies like Caput Mortuum used for male vitality and epilepsy treatment. Visitors can explore authentic pharmaceutical machinery including steam lines for galenic formulations from the Kaunas Red Cross Hospital pharmacy and equipment from the Sanitas chemical-pharmaceutical laboratory (1922-1950), alongside comprehensive displays chronicling the development of pharmacy during Lithuania's interwar period and the evolution of medical practices through the 20th century. The museum's architectural setting in the historic Town Hall Square provides an atmospheric backdrop where Gothic and Renaissance elements enhance the visitor experience, while the institution serves as both an educational resource for healthcare professionals and an engaging cultural attraction that demonstrates how traditional Lithuanian medicine evolved into modern pharmaceutical science. The museum's unique position in documenting Lithuanian pharmaceutical history, combined with its authentic period room reconstructions and extensive collection of medical artifacts, makes it an invaluable resource for understanding the intersection of folk medicine traditions, European pharmaceutical development, and Lithuania's specific contributions to medical science.