Lion pharmacy

St. Pölten's oldest pharmacy under the sign of the golden lion - 1545.

Right in the historic heart of St. Pölten, on the striking corner of Kremser Gasse and Wiener Straße, stands one of the oldest and most traditional buildings in the city: the Löwenapotheke. In operation since 1595, it is not only the oldest pharmacy in St. Pölten, but also a testimony to centuries of healing, architecture and urban development.

Wiener Straße - a vein through the centuries

Wiener Straße itself is one of the oldest traffic arteries in the city. Even in Roman times, it connected important storage and trading points. After 1100, it developed into the center of the bourgeois merchant settlement founded by the Bishop of Passau. Numerous former inns still bear witness to its importance as a European travel and trade route.

A house with a lion, coat of arms and history

The Löwenapotheke pharmacy is located in a prominent location in a building steeped in tradition: Wiener Straße 1. Its baroque façade, visible today, was created after 1727 by the renowned architect Joseph Munggenast. Above the entrance are two elaborately crafted apothecary coats of arms, which date back to pharmacist Königsdorfer from 1607.

The store sign deserves special attention: it bears the inscription "Zum goldenen Löwen" - a relic from the 19th century that not only gives the building its name to this day, but is also a symbol of stability and trust.

The first floor still has original, late Biedermeier-style painted windows and doors, which impressively preserve the charm and character of the historic building.

In the corner niche of the building is a copy of a baroque statue of Maria Immaculata, the original of which is in the city museum - another detail that shows how closely religious symbolism and civic life were once interwoven.

Art Nouveau and Renaissance: neighbors with history

Directly adjacent to the pharmacy is the building at Wiener Strasse 3-7, a large building erected in 1914/15 by architect Rudolf Frass to replace three older houses. Designed in the style of the fading Art Nouveau, it marks a stylistic contrast and documents the transition from historicist to modern architectural forms in St. Pölten.

Opposite, at Wiener Straße 4, is a building with origins dating back to the 16th century and a narrow Renaissance arcade in the inner courtyard - a rare architectural detail that is not open to the public. The façade, presumably a late work by Joseph Munggenast, harmoniously complements the ensemble.

A little further on, at Wiener Straße 6, there is a magnificent stuccoed hall on the second floor - another Renaissance work of art that is rarely preserved in this form in St. Pölten. This building was also refurbished around 1854.

Façade as a collection of quotations

The neighboring house at Wiener Straße 8, formerly connected to No. 6 by a shared façade, was given a new look in 1907 in the so-called bourgeois Renaissance style, also known as the Nuremberg style. The client, Franz Benedikt, an ironmonger, did not want uniform architecture, but rather an artistic collage of bourgeois Renaissance motifs. To this day, the façade looks like a walk-in quotation book of romantic historicism.

Today: a pharmacy with identity

The Löwenapotheke is still a place where remedies, history and craftsmanship come together. When you enter it, you are not only entering a room of health, but also a piece of St. Pölten's history. And the golden lion still keeps watch over the corner of Wiener Straße and Kremser Gasse - as a symbol of protection, strength and tradition.