Apteka pod Orłem Kraków: The Eagle Pharmacy Museum

Apteka pod Orłem in Kraków is the Eagle Pharmacy Museum, a branch of the Historical Museum of Kraków. It stands at 18 Bohaterów Getta Square in Podgórze, the former district of Kraków, Poland.

The museum occupies the site of a pharmacy established in 1910. Its significance comes from what happened there after the Nazis formed the Kraków Ghetto in March 1941, when the area was sealed off and thousands of Jews were forced inside.

What is Apteka pod Orłem in Kraków?

Apteka pod Orłem is the Eagle Pharmacy Museum and a branch of the Historical Museum of Kraków. Its address is 18 Bohaterów Getta Square in Podgórze, the former district of Kraków.

The pharmacy’s identity is closely tied to Tadeusz Pankiewicz, its non-Jewish owner and pharmacist. He was the only Pole permitted to remain and operate his business within the ghetto walls. From 1941 to 1943, the pharmacy became associated with survival and resistance inside the Kraków Ghetto.

Why is Apteka pod Orłem important?

Apteka pod Orłem is important because it continued operating inside the sealed Kraków Ghetto and became a place where people could find practical help, communication and shelter. Pankiewicz and his staff risked their lives in work that connected the pharmacy directly to the survival of ghetto residents.

The Krakow Jewish Metamorphosis Tour visits Apteka pod Orłem as stop 6 of 9, placing the pharmacy within a route focused on Kraków’s Jewish history and its transformation.

What happened inside the pharmacy during the Kraków Ghetto?

Inside Apteka pod Orłem, Pankiewicz and his staff smuggled food, medicines and forged documents. The pharmacy also provided shelter and served as a communication hub for residents of the ghetto.

Its back rooms were used for secret meetings and coded exchanges. These activities took place under the constant threat of Nazi surveillance, turning the pharmacy from a place of trade into a discreet centre of survival and resistance.

That specific role is what makes Apteka pod Orłem worth seeking out in Podgórze: its importance is tied to the pharmacy’s address, its staff and the help carried out within its walls between 1941 and 1943.