The Old Pharmacy "Hippocrates"

The house was built in 1872 by Dr. Sotir Antoniadi, one of the first persons with a medical degree in Plovdiv. There was a pharmacy on the ground floor of the house directly accessible from the street.

The house was massive and with asymmetrical layout. The entrance to the residential part was from a small coquettish courtyard. A narrow corridor and a double-wing staircase lead to the floor where the family lived. The ceilings are plastered and richly decorated with rosettes and floral ornaments. The overall layout of the house betrays a sense for modern functionality that was inherent to the intellectuals from the National Revival period.

Today the former pharmacy has been reconstructed into a museum exhibition called the Old Pharmacy “Hippocrates”. The interior decoration is reminiscent of the antique romantic style from the times of the National Revival in Plovdiv. The House of Antoniadi in the Old Plovdiv features the old apothecary shop ‘Hippocrates’ and the Museum of pharmacy, which are unique for Bulgaria. Here you can have insight of the way medicine and pharmacy were practiced during the Bulgarian Revival period and up to the beginning of the 20th century – a period when all the medications and pills used to be handmade, of natural ingredients such as herbs, minerals and natural oils. The exhibited diplomas of physicians and pharmacists were delivered to their holders by universities in Western Europe.  The museum exhibition reveals how the various extracts and tinctures used to be made and how laboratory tests were carried out. A lot of tools and medical equipment, manufactured mainly in Vienna and Berlin, are displayed inside. The apothecary shop features a preserved antique cash register, made in America in the 20es of the 20th c. as well as authentic royal “apothecary jars” with gold accents, having contained remedies for the royal family.

The original book with recipes by the healer St. Ivan Rilski (St. John of Rila) still keeps the memory of the century-old art of making remedies.

Day for free visit: Every first Thursday of the month for students and retired people.

Visits are in compliance with the anti-epidemic measures.