In this photograph from the Photo Archive of the Museum of Sarajevo, we see Sarajevo’s Ferhadija at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries – a vibrant urban artery in a time of accelerated modernization. Among the shops, H. Schlesinger’s Pharmacy stands out as an important landmark in the development of the pharmaceutical profession in Sarajevo.
During the Austro-Hungarian administration (1878–1918), pharmacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina became a legally regulated profession. This opened the door to the arrival of formally trained pharmacists, increased the number of public pharmacies and qualified staff, and significantly improved health and social conditions in the country.
The pharmacy was taken over by Mr Jozef Schlesinger from Jakov Sumbul, the first graduate pharmacist in Bosnia and Herzegovina (educated in Istanbul), whose diploma was not recognized by the Austro-Hungarian authorities. Reliefs of Aesculapius and Hygieia are still visible on the building’s façade today – silent reminders of the history of pharmacy and medicine in the heart of Sarajevo.
