Behind one of the many Maasland-style facades on the Markt in Maaseik is the Pharmacy Museum. In this well-preserved time capsule, interior furnishings and a collection of pharmacy equipment show how pharmacy evolved from the 18th through the first half of the 20th centuries. To step into the space is to be surrounded by the history of pharmacy and the chemist’s shop, with old showcases, drawers full of herbs, the poison cabinet, medicine jars, mortars and pestles, pill boxes and mixing spoons all bringing back the atmosphere of long-ago days and the craft of the apothecary.

A thorough renovation of the furnishings was completed in 2012, when the 18th-century pharmacy in which apothecary Thomas Botti mixed his pills and sold his herbs was restored to its full glory. The last pharmacist, Guillaume Van Venckenray (1911-1959) is also remembered here, with a selection of his personal possessions and mysterious equipment on display.

Make sure to visit the herb garden behind the pharmacy. On the basis of an archaeological excavation of the pharmacy cesspit in 1985, and analysis of the plant remains found there, the herb garden was recreated and filled with medicinal plants and herbs as well as the kitchen herbs that the apothecaries and pharmacists would have used.

Our permanent museum texts are only in Dutch, but a museum guide in EN/DE/FR is available at the desk.