This property accommodated the first pharmacy in Raahe between 1924 and 1998. Today, the Old Pharmacy is one of the attractions of the Raahe Museum. The first pharmacy in Raahe was founded in 1793 by apothecary Jean Galenius. The original location of the pharmacy is unknown, but at least from 1820, it operated on Kirkkokatu opposite the town church.

Pharmacist Väinö Mäkinen bought the pharmacy in 1917. A need for larger facilities emerged as the turnover grew considerably with the introduction of the Prohibition Act, and Mäkinen decided to move the pharmacy to this building on Kauppakatu in 1924. Väinö Mäkinen's son Paavo took over after his father and worked as the pharmacist between 1961 to 1996. For the last two years at this address, the pharmacy was run by Hannu Svärd. Today, the first pharmacy of Raahe operates in the Kauppaporvari property on Sovionkatu.

History of the building

The current Kauppakatu street (Långgatan 1750–1911, Brahenkatu 1911–1930) and its adjacent quarters were once a residential area for burghers, i.e. merchants, aldermen, captains, civil servants, and wealthy craftsmen. The area also housed several shops. The construction history of this corner property dates back to the early days of the town in the 1650s. Since the late 18th century, the property and its buildings were owned by merchant Michel Durchman. After the fire of 1810 destroyed the buildings, Durchman built a new house on Kauppakatu in 1811. The house was a low building, originally designed as a side wing of a larger building. The main building on Brahenkatu was completed in 1813. The timber frame is said to have been imported from Sweden, most likely from Piteå. The building is a so-called pseudovinkkelitalo* (pseudo-angle building) and represents the timber-Empire style characteristic of Raahe.

Members of the Durchman family lived on the property until 1839, after which it was transferred under the ownership of the renowned Lundberg merchant family. At first, the building accommodated Erik Lundberg's widow Anna Lundberg and their son, Johan Sivert Lundberg, who later became a merchant and shipowner, the famous owner of the Lundberg shipbuilding company. The property stayed in the possession of the Lundberg family at least until 1900. The locals used to call the property and its buildings Old Lumperi.

*pseudovinkkelitalo = a double-wing building at a corner property in which the roof between the wings is not hipped, but instead, the end of the other wing is visible.

Transformation into a pharmacy

In the early 20th century, the Brahenkatu wing accommodated a doctor's office and the Kauppakatu wing housed a bookstore for a long time. Väinö Mäkinen opened his pharmacy in the building in August 1924 as a tenant of the doctor's wife Aino Soikkonen.

In 1931, Mäkinen bought the building for himself. The pharmacist and his family lived in the former pharmacy building on Kirkkokatu until the Brahenkatu wing was vacated by the town doctor at the end of the 1950s. The property is still in the possession of the Mäkinen family, and the wing on Brahenkatu is being used as a private dwelling.

The wing used for business has been renovated in the Art Nouveau style, most likely by Väinö Mäkinen. At least he commissioned large display windows for the premises. (The windows were replaced again in the 1950s.) Items moved from the old location to the new premises included the Art Nouveau-style fixed furniture renovated in 1900, the imperial eagle guarding the entrance, and the movable property in its entirety. Apparently, nothing was discarded during the move; even the medicinal product boxes and old bottles and jars dating back to the late 18th century were moved to the new address and stored in the attic.

From pharmacy to museum

When Mäkinen sold the pharmacy business to Svärd, the old movable property of the pharmacy was not included in the sale; instead, the collection remained intact. In spring 1999, the Town of Raahe purchased the movable property and incorporated it into the collections of the Raahe Museum. At the same time, the pharmacy premises were leased so that the objects could be stored and exhibited in their original environment.

The Old Pharmacy collection is one of Finland's most valuable pharmacy sector wholes. In addition to the fixed furniture of the pharmacy hall, or offiisi, it also includes wooden medicinal product boxes from the early days of the pharmacy, hundreds of medicine bottles and jars, the oldest of which dating from the 18th century, a wide range of equipment needed in the manufacture of medicines, sales packages from the 19th century, etc. Many of the boxes still contain some of the old medicinal products. The building even has the authentic scent of an old pharmacy!

Opening hours and visits

The Old Pharmacy is open in summer and at other times upon request. Opening hours can be checked here. For visiting outside the opening hours, please contact the museum (museo [at] raahe.fi).