Kurortny Prospekt (Resort Avenue)

13 points1 km1 hour

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🏛️🕰️ Compare the eras

Route points (13)

Pharmacy in Zelenogradsk

Point on route “Kurortny Prospekt (Resort Avenue)”

Point 8

Pharmacy

🏟️ Architectural landmark • 📜 Historic site

Historical Background

Old pharmacies sold all sorts of things. Besides medicines such as ointments, tinctures and pills, you could buy wax candles, perfume, soap and spices. Pharmacies also sold groceries, mineral water and even stationery. The Cranz telephone directory carries an ad for the Adler (“Eagle”) Pharmacy. From the start it was not only a pharmacy but also a shop selling household goods, toiletries and cosmetics. The pharmacy also offered urine tests and blood chemistry tests. Traces of the large “Apotheke” sign can still be seen on the end wall of the building.

Architecture

The three-story red brick building has a triangular half-timbered gable. This architectural style, typical of Germany, is easy to recognize by the distinctive lattice of timbers framing the building. The house is adorned with two balconies, completely different from each other, yet both giving the building a special charm.

Story

In her “Letter about Cranz,” local resident Gertrud Lidtke recalled the town pharmacist. She wrote that the pharmacy stood just past the post office and that until 1934 it belonged to Walter Wreschinski, who was Jewish. The fishermen of Cranz respected and loved him greatly: in winter he gave them medicine on credit, and in summer, once they were earning again, they paid him back in full. In 1934 he sold the pharmacy and its shop and left for Berlin, where in 1938 he was sent to a camp. Her memories paint the pharmacy's owner in a warm light.