Pharmacies have always been a cornerstone of healthcare, but the way they looked and operated a century ago was vastly different from today’s modern drugstores. In early 20th-century Bucharest, Romania, pharmacies were not just places to buy medicine—they were elegant, almost mystical spaces that combined science with the art of healing.
In 1925, pharmacists were considered highly respected members of society. Unlike today, where most medications come prepackaged from pharmaceutical companies, pharmacists of that era played a much more hands-on role in medicine preparation. They would often grind herbs, mix powders, and create ointments, tinctures, and tonics for their customers on the spot.
Medical prescriptions were written in elegant cursive script, sometimes in Latin, and the pharmacist would carefully interpret them before measuring and preparing the remedy. There were no electronic records, so every transaction and prescription was meticulously recorded by hand in large leather-bound ledgers.
In addition to traditional Western medicine, many pharmacies also sold herbal remedies, homeopathic solutions, and even beauty products made from natural ingredients. Some even had their own signature formulas, which became well-known across the city.
A pharmacy in Bucharest in the 1920s stocked a wide variety of items, many of which would be unfamiliar to us today. Some of the most common products included:
- Herbal Tinctures and Extracts – Concentrated plant-based remedies, such as valerian root for sleep, or echinacea for immunity.
- Medicinal Powders – Substances like quinine for malaria, or aspirin powder, which was often sold in small paper packets.
- Opium and Cocaine-Based Medications – Surprisingly, it was common to find medications containing these substances, which were used as painkillers, cough suppressants, or even energy boosters before strict regulations were introduced.
- Handcrafted Beauty Products – Creams, perfumes, and soaps were often prepared in pharmacies, using natural ingredients like rosewater and beeswax.
- Leeches and Other Traditional Remedies – Bloodletting was still practiced in some cases, and pharmacists sometimes stocked live leeches for this purpose.
Many of these substances were stored in beautifully designed glass bottles with handwritten labels, adding to the pharmacy’s old-world charm.
Beyond being a place of commerce, a pharmacy in early 20th-century Bucharest was also a hub of knowledge. People would visit not only to get their prescriptions filled but also to seek advice and learn about new treatments. Pharmacists were seen as trusted advisors, often consulted before a doctor’s visit.
The dim lighting, the scent of dried herbs, and the sight of countless mysterious bottles made pharmacies feel almost magical. It was a place where science met tradition, where each remedy told a story, and where a pharmacist’s skill could mean the difference between sickness and health.
Over the years, pharmacies in Bucharest, as in the rest of the world, transformed drastically. By the mid-20th century, large pharmaceutical companies began mass-producing medicine, reducing the need for pharmacists to prepare remedies by hand. Standardized packaging, regulations, and automation changed the industry, making pharmacies more uniform and efficient.
Today, Bucharest still holds traces of its rich pharmaceutical history. Some of the city’s older pharmacies, now restored or repurposed, serve as reminders of a time when medicine was as much an art as it was a science.
A pharmacy in Bucharest 100 years ago was more than just a place to pick up medicine—it was a carefully designed, almost mystical space where knowledge, tradition, and craftsmanship came together. The elegant wooden counters, the mysterious glass vials, and the skilled hands of the apothecary created an atmosphere that modern pharmacies can hardly replicate.
While the world of medicine has advanced in ways people in 1925 could hardly imagine, there is still something fascinating about the pharmacies of the past—a glimpse into a time when healing was a personalized and almost magical experience.
