Materia medica
Purely rational considerations and objective analyses of successful treatments were not always a major part of the assessment of a pharmaceutical substance. Our collection of obsolete remedies gives an overview of the changes and errors made in the field of medicine during the past. The collection contains medicaments of mineral, herbal and animal origin as well as amulets and agents against the plague.

Instruments
Ever since the beginning of their fast-paced development, instruments for measuring and comparing have played an important role in modern science. Several balances including weights as well as microscopes and a variety of laboratory utensils give us an account of the fascinating work of scientists and engineers since the end of medieval times.

Herbal books
The practical application of plants as a resource for medical science trace back to the great scholars of classical antiquity. Galen and especially Dioskurides took great interest in pharmaceuticals derived from the botanical world. On this basis - enriched by arabic influences during the Middle Ages - an extensive pharmaceutical literature has developed since the 16th century, culminating in the many magnificently illustrated herbal books. In addition, the museum features a large collection of historic pharmacopoeias from several different european countries.

Amulets
Amulets were already used by humans in prehistoric times and still are today. Whether consciously or not, it bases on a mystical relatedness of the person carrying the object to his environment. Analogous doctrines such as numerology, colourology, astrology and mystical religious beliefs led to the use of amulets. They either symbolise a strong relationship with deity or protect the bearer with magical powers. Apart from warding off evil some amulets were used to heal or protect against "demonic diseases".

Vessels
The history of pharmacy and the history of pottery are closely linked. Pharmacists, who were in need of storage for their products such as glazed clay vessels, belonged to the first significant customers of the new pottery industry developing in the southern Europe of the 15th and 16th century.
During this period the know-how on firing pottery was acquired from the Orient. The museum gives a good overview of pharmaceutical vessels produced by the most important manufacturers, particularly from Italy, France, Germany and Switzerland.

Laboratories and pharmacies
The most picturesque room in the museum - the gothic private chapel built in the 15th century - was converted into an alchemist's laboratory. Unusual objects give a feeling for the mysterious atmosphere of alchemy, where peculiar names such as "alembic" and "alcohol" point to the Arabic origin of this mystical discipline.
Quite different the second laboratory - a pharmaceutical laboratory from 1800 - where many different phials and complex apparatuses were used to produce the newly developed chemical remedies. The Empire pharmacy from France and the famous court pharmacy of Innsbruck of the baroque period (around 1755) provide an insight into the fascinating world of a pharmacist living before the industrial revolution.