Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte Apothecary Museum

Founded towards the middle of the 12th century by Count Henri of Champagne (the “Liberal”), Hôtel Dieu le Comte was rebuilt several times in the 13th, 15th and 18th centuries. It retained its astonishing apothecary’s dispensary (and its laboratory) created at the beginning of the 18th century, where two remarkable collections of medicine boxes and pottery are on display: a picture of medicine in the times of the Enlightenment.

The Hôtel-Dieu-le-Comte pharmacy is a vast, almost square room about 8 metres long and some 5 metres high embellished with Louis XIV style dark oak panelling. In the same style, a monumental mobile ladder mounted on copper rollers made access to the upper shelves possible. However, the initial arrangement of the objects has certainly been changed several times.

By their style, the illustrations on these boxes are similar to those of the great botanical works of the beginning of the 18th century.

Beside the pharmacy, the laboratory provides a completely different view of medicine under the Ancien Régime: the preparation of medicines. The doctors prepared their medicines there: they weighed the ingredients, crushed them in mortars and cooked the decoctions and syrups on the stove in front of the hearth.

Openings :

May 2 to September 30: open Wednesdays from 02pm to 07pm. Thursdays and Fridays from 10am to 01pm and from 02pm to 07pm. And 11am to 13am and 02pm to 07pm on Saturdays and Sundays.