Antonina Leśniewska Museum of Pharmacy

The Pharmacy Museum in the Old Town of Warsaw is a small but tightly focused branch of the Museum of Warsaw. It is named after Antonina Lesniewska, the first qualified woman pharmacist in Poland and a pioneer of the country's women's movement in the late 19th century. In Saint Petersburg, Lesniewska founded the first pharmacy run entirely by women and campaigned for access to pharmacy studies for female students. The exhibition shows reconstructed pharmacy interiors with wooden shelving, mortars, glass bottles and prescription books from two centuries of Polish pharmacy. The visit is short but adds an unusual perspective to a walk through the rebuilt Old Town, weaving together science history, craft and the history of women's rights.