which has been active uninterruptedly since 1317. Judging only from the viewpoint of continuity, this is perhaps the oldest pharmacy on the Old Continent. Although the pharmacy initially satisfied only the needs of the Monastery, it gradually expanded in proportion with the increasing needs of the citizens, who supported it with their donations. The pharmacy smelled of mint, sage and medicinal herbs which the Franciscans used for their preparations that cured various illnesses. The pharmacy library comprises a large number of text-books with recipes for secret potions but also for quite ordinary medicines. Many of the manuscripts include the elixirs of youth, the good memory medicines, and also the brew that - as they claimed - could grant peace in ones marriage!
The parts of pharmacy inventory, mainly from the 17th and 18th centuries, are exhibited at the Franciscan Monastery Museum, the renaissance hall one enters from the cloister. It houses the paintings by old masters, valuable jewellery and ancient mass vestments.