OGRE’S FIRST PHARMACY: ESTABLISHMENT AND TRANSFORMATIONS
The distinctive pharmacy building, so familiar to Ogre residents, is an integral part of the town center’s landscape. Many town residents have visited the pharmacy, recognizable by the arch above its entrance, located next to the current kiosk and clock. This is one of the oldest buildings in the city and holds many interesting stories. […]
The distinctive pharmacy building, so familiar to Ogre residents, is an integral part of the town center’s landscape. Many town residents have visited the pharmacy, recognizable by the arch above its entrance, located next to the current kiosk and clock. This is one of the oldest buildings in the city and holds many interesting stories.
Given the pharmacy’s relevance, both during the pandemic and in earlier times, the Ogre History and Art Museum has decided to publish a series of articles about its history, offering a glimpse into its unique daily rhythm, which has always demanded scrupulous precision.
1889. On November 9, Dr. Jūlijs Zēks, a physician for the Riga-Dinaburg railway district, received a concession from the Riga City Estate Board to open a pharmacy near the Oger (Ogre) railway station. The pharmacy was established in a one-story wooden building, previously butcher Jūlijs Kalniņš’s shop, on Tīnūžu Road (now Brīvības Street 24). The current pharmacy complex now stands on this plot of land. Pharmacist’s assistant Jānis Punka was appointed as the pharmacy manager.
In 1891, pharmacist’s assistant, later provisional pharmacist, Artūrs Flahs took over the management of the pharmacy. He acquired the Ogre pharmacy in 1895, expanded the business, and in 1895–1896, built a new one-story stone building specifically for the pharmacy’s needs (now Brīvības Street 22).
In 1896, he established a bathing facility in the pharmacy’s courtyard, offering both regular and medicinal baths. A brick building was constructed at the back of the plot for this purpose. 1900. In 1896, a bathhouse was opened, and in 1907, a pine needle extract laboratory was established. Historical sources indicate that Flahs himself boiled extract from pine needles and managed the pharmacy until 1913.
In 1909, the first public telephone in Ogre was installed at the pharmacy.
During World War I, the pharmacy building, like most of the town, was destroyed, with only its walls remaining.
On November 3, 1920, provisional pharmacist Pēteris Šīrons (1876–1947) received a concession for a rural pharmacy, and by July 18, 1921, it was opened under the name “Ogresgrīvas aptieka” and located in the “Bēms” building (now Brīvības Street 2). As conditions for trade were very poor there, with the building housing a butcher shop, a barber’s shop, and a colonial store in addition to the pharmacy, Šīrons found an opportunity in May 1922 to move his business to the “Skujas” building at Upes Prospekts 4 (which has not been preserved).
In 1924, Pēteris Šīrons acquired the plot of land of the former pharmacy with the building’s walls, and architect Indriķis Blankenburgs designed the pharmacy building project, incorporating the old walls.
In May 1925, the pharmacy began operations. A bathhouse was built in the pharmacy’s courtyard and opened in 1927. It also served as a bathing facility where residents and guests of the town could enjoy medicinal baths (carbonic acid, oxygen, sulfur, pine needle, various salts).
In 1933, according to Edgar Starķis’s design, the building was supplemented with a sales hall and a kiosk, forming a unified complex. During the Soviet era, it was used as a newspaper kiosk. The round kiosk still serves residents and guests as a refreshment and snack spot near the town square and adds a special ambiance to the place. The renovation also tidied up the facade of the old building, and living quarters were built in the attic.
During the reconstruction in 1933–1938, the Ogre pharmacy building acquired constructivist forms, creating the traditional Ogre building style and harmoniously integrating into the complex. The architectural solution of this building, with its plastic forms, was one of the most valuable construction examples in the city.
In the workshop of Ogre carpenter Alberts Dreimanis, specially designed furniture for the pharmacy was created: monolithic cabinets with green glass. These remained in the pharmacy premises until 1986. Now, one of the cabinets, after restoration, can be seen in the museum’s permanent exhibition. The old pharmacy interior can be seen in the Riga Film Studio’s film “Long Road in the Dunes,” as an episode for one of the film’s series was shot precisely in the Ogre pharmacy.
After the nationalization of the pharmacy in 1940, its owner, Pēteris Šīrons, who also owned a bathing establishment, briefly managed it until he was exiled to Siberia on June 14, 1941, along with his son Aleksandrs Pauls Šīrons. Pēteris Šīrons tragically disappeared without a trace in exile in 1947.
His eldest daughter, Ieva Ķere, who had a pharmacist’s degree, continued to manage the pharmacy until her emigration at the end of World War II.
In 1948, after completing her studies, Valērija Jukmane began working at the pharmacy, becoming its manager and working there for over 20 years. She played a significant role not only in the pharmacy’s operations but also in preserving its history.
Over time, the pharmacy’s original premises became too small, as in the 20th century 70. it was very busy, serving many medical institutions: hospitals, sanatoriums, polyclinics, railway workers’ prophylactorium, preschool institutions, both of the city’s vocational technical schools, as well as nearby medical points. Furthermore, it was an on-call pharmacy, meaning that necessities could be obtained at any time of day or night.
Data also shows that the pharmacy’s workload and volume of work have increased over the years: 20. century 50. only ten employees worked at the Ogre central pharmacy, but in 1979, there were 64 people.
Until 1982, this was the only pharmacy in Ogre. A second pharmacy was opened at Padomju Prospekts 9 (now Mālkalnes Prospekts). It employed a staff of 15 people, and residents of Jaunogre and the Blue Hills massif mostly shopped at this pharmacy. Similar to the central pharmacy, medicines could also be purchased there on Sundays. This was when the opportunity arose to consider reconstructing the old pharmacy. The project planned to connect the pharmacy building with the adjacent house, reconstruct the third floor, and install two elevators, as the heavy cylinders with prepared solutions and delivered goods had to be lifted by the pharmacy staff themselves.
For a time in 1986, the pharmacy doors were closed, the kiosk was empty, and many Ogre residents were puzzled about the future fate of this place: would the pharmacy be rebuilt, demolished, or replaced with a standard building? A reconstruction project for the building had been developed at the request of the Main Pharmacy Administration. The work was planned to be completed by 1987, but the Cultural Monuments Protection Inspectorate was not satisfied with the proposal, as “the newly designed 3-story pharmacy building contrasts with the surrounding historical development in terms of both form and scale.” The Inspectorate’s chairman, Mārtiņš Apinis, pointed out that “the demolition of the second floor of the old pharmacy building is considered unjustified both economically and historically-architecturally. It is useful to preserve the old pharmacy equipment – original furniture – together.” Unfortunately, the Inspectorate’s recommendations were not taken into account.
The City Executive Committee also received a collective letter from residents demanding that the pharmacy, as a historical monument, not be touched, believing that the city would lose a valuable building. A request was made to review the project and transfer the reconstruction to adjacent buildings, addressing it in the traditional architectural manner of Ogre city. The letter also recommended preserving and reinstalling the old pharmacy furniture after renovation, as this type of interior has only been preserved in the former Šampēteris pharmacy.
The architects intended to install a tiled roof, but the clients were deterred by the high cost of this material, so there was an idea to replace it with a tin roof. However, it must be said that historically, roofs in Ogre have not had tile coverings.
Aivars Kalniņš, Chairman of the City Executive Committee, promised that the pharmacy would retain the same elements as 100 years ago: dolomite stone walls, large entrance gates, and a press kiosk. It was planned to rebuild the second floor, clad it with yellow bricks, and cut down some trees so that pharmacy employees would not have to work under artificial lighting during the day.
Aivars Kalniņš stated that “after reconstruction, our pharmacy will receive the most modern equipment in the republic, [..] and Ogre residents will get a convenient commercial building that will both adorn the city’s face and evoke a sense of history. Next to the pharmacy, a modern, uniquely beautiful flower kiosk will rise, and by the end of the five-year plan, Revolūcijas Street, from the executive committee square to the tunnel, will be closed to traffic.”
The commission reviewed the reconstruction project once again and concluded that construction and renovation could proceed.
In a 1988 “Padomju Ceļš” newspaper article, Rasma Hartmane, manager of the central pharmacy, describing the transformation and plans for the old pharmacy, said: “Only the location remains of the old one. It was redesigned twice, and details multiple times. [..] An artist-designer is working with the district architects’ group, who will issue the facade coloring passport. I saw samples. It looks like it will be beautiful. [..] The designer is interior artist Uldis Austriņš. He will create ceiling structures with light fixtures and design furniture. These will be light ash wood furniture. Very light, because the rooms are rather dark. The old pharmacy furniture will only be viewable in museums – here in Ogre and in the newly established pharmacy museum in Riga. Initially, we thought of setting up a small corner in the new building, but it just doesn’t fit together. We don’t want to use the old furniture; it’s not comfortable, it’s heavy, with deep drawers. [..] The sales hall will be on two floors. At first, it will certainly seem unusual until we get used to it. We plan to have optics, bandaging materials, and over-the-counter medications downstairs. So, things you can quickly grab when you pop into the pharmacy. True, the rooms here are rather dark, so we’ll have to work on artificial lighting. However, on the second floor, we asked for roof lighting to be designed. We found information in the museum that the old pharmacy also had it. All production facilities will be located there, there will be a finished forms department, and medicines will be prepared according to prescriptions. The third floor will have rooms for drying medicinal plants. Yes, to ease the burden on the pharmacy staff, an elevator will be in operation.”
Conditions will also significantly improve in other respects. A separate room for rest is planned, there will be a personal hygiene room, showers, a wardrobe for outerwear and special uniforms. We will be able to manufacture medicines according to requirements, as there will be a freezer, we will be able to prepare sterile injection solutions, and disinfectants will be stored separately.” [“Padomju Ceļš”, August 30, 1988, V. Aizupe “Ogresgrīvas aptieka? Kāpēc ne?”]
However, the reconstruction did not proceed so quickly. Even in February 1989, ventilation and finishing works were still being carried out, and in an interview, Rita Skrastiņa, the district architect of the State Control, was quite skeptical: “The plaster on the protruding window arches is indeed falling off at the edges. [..] Repairmen receive half of all cement from Lipetsk, and it is of very low quality [..] In many places, the roof has been installed poorly. [..] There are many, many changes in the project.” However, she promised grandiose ventilation systems that would heat the premises in cold weather, a conference hall, and an appropriate room for drying drugs. It was also planned to replace the yellow bricks with better ones and plaster them.
The reconstructed pharmacy building, in its current form, was opened in 1990. Unfortunately, most of the pharmacy’s furniture was lost due to thoughtless and uneconomical actions; only a small part ended up in the Ogre History and Art Museum. The permanent exhibition features a large medicine cabinet with preserved medicine names, pharmacy utensils, and medication packaging. When visiting the Ogre Museum, have you ever noticed a prescription written for a horse?
“OGRE KANGARI” HIKING TRAIL
We invite you to explore the hiking trail to better discover the hills of Ogre. View the photo gallery and read the story on the museum's website or Facebook page. By looking at historical images, you can compare how the city has changed over time. We have marked the route in the "BalticMaps" map browser. The “GPX” file is convenient to use with the LVM GEO mobile app. The total length of the hiking trail marked on the map is 14 kilometers (7 kilometers in Pārogre and 7 kilometers in Ogre center and Jaunogre). The hiking trail winds through both the urban part of the city (with asphalt, cobblestone, and gravel surfaces) and green areas (park paths and pedestrian-trodden forest trails without special amenities).
