Apothecary of the Hôtel-Dieu

The apothecary of Bourg-en-Bresse is composed of three rooms: a laboratory which has remained intact, a back room and a dispensary, with magnificent Louis XV woodwork housing an impressive collection of earthenware and bottles.
It was the pharmacy of the old hospital, the Hôtel-Dieu, from the end of its construction (1782-1790) until 1963. Its laboratory is a remarkable room, as it is nowadays very rare to be able to visit one. It allows you to immerse yourself in the chemistry of the past centuries: copper stills, mortars, cast iron furnace (19th century), press, all kinds of pewter...
The back room reveals the first earthenware pots, canon pots or chevrettes, as well as a library containing old books, including one from the 17th century.
The oak woodwork of the dispensary gives the room a cozy character. Some parts are carved to receive exactly the corresponding ceramics, the famous "watch pots", three of which are inscribed with the famous Theriac. A journey into the pharmacopoeia of past centuries through more than a thousand containers! Distillates, powders, ointments, pills, syrups, oils, dried plants...