Raeapteek Pharmacy

The Raeapteek Pharmacy, in Tallinn

The Raeapteek Pharmacy, open since 1422, is one of the oldest pharmacies of Europe still in activity, on the Town Hall Square of Tallinn. The Tallinn audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this extraordinary place, a witness of six centuries of history of medicine.

The medieval pharmacy still in activity

A small cough, a cold or a passing pain? Here is the address you need! Open since 1422, the Raeapteek Pharmacy, or Town Council Pharmacy, is one of the oldest pharmacies of Europe still in activity at the same location. Installed on the Town Hall Square, it serves the inhabitants of Tallinn without interruption for more than six centuries, crossing the eras, the wars and the regimes. In the Middle Ages, all sorts of remedies were prepared and sold there, sometimes astonishing to our eyes of today: powders, ointments, herbs, but also much more surprising preparations, like mummy powder, crayfish eyes or horn, supposed to cure all ills. The pharmacy played a central role in the life of the town, at the crossroads of medicine, trade and science. Today, it is at once a pharmacy in activity and a small museum, which presents old instruments, flasks and remedies of the period. A witness of the history of medicine and a unique place, the Raeapteek Pharmacy is a fine stop of the discovery of Tallinn.

What to see

Here you discover one of the oldest pharmacies of Europe still in activity, open since 1422 at the same location on the Town Hall Square, which serves the inhabitants for more than six centuries; astonishing remedies like mummy powder were formerly prepared there, and it is today at once a pharmacy and a small museum presenting instruments, flasks and remedies of the period. The Raeapteek Pharmacy is a unique place of Tallinn. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Raeapteek Pharmacy lies on the Town Hall Square, in the heart of the old town of Tallinn, reachable on foot. It is at once a pharmacy in activity and a small museum, which follows its own hours and conditions, which vary. The entry of the museum part is generally free. It is best to check the arrangements before coming.

Since when is the Raeapteek Pharmacy of Tallinn open?

Since 1422: it is one of the oldest pharmacies of Europe still in activity at the same location, on the Town Hall Square; it serves the inhabitants for more than six centuries and presents, as a small museum, old instruments, flasks and astonishing remedies like mummy powder.

Where is the Raeapteek Pharmacy in Tallinn?

On the Town Hall Square, in the heart of the old town of Tallinn, in Estonia.