Apoteka na stepenicama

Pharmacy on the stairs - Most important information

Have you heard of the Pharmacy on the Stairs? This building is also known as the Pharmacy on the Stairs. It dates from the second half of the 18th century and the first pharmacy in Vršac, Kod spasitelja, was opened in 1784. Stay with us and find out something new about this building below!

Appearance and characteristics of the Pharmacy on the stairs
The founder and owner of the first pharmacy in Vršac was Pelevan. It was built as a corner ground floor building with a base in the shape of the Cyrillic letter G and a high roof. Below the whole building is a spacious basement. The Pharmacy building on the steps is built of hard material, plastered and painted, while the roof covering is composed of pepper tiles (this is the oldest traditional form of tile in the history of construction). In the second half of the 19th century, this building received a new facade with stylistic features of classicism. On the street side, you will notice masonry steps, which serve as the entrance to the Pharmacy. The ceilings were used for collecting and drying medicinal herbs, and the basement served as a commercial warehouse.

Pharmacies on the stairs - City Museum
The pharmacy on the steps had the same purpose from the beginning of its creation until 1971: it was both a pharmacy and an apothecary's apartment. Numerous owners changed, and in 1928 the owner of this pharmacy was Aleksandar Jovanović, the brother of the painter Paja Jovanović. The pharmacy on the stairs was ceded to the City Museum in Vršac in 1965, so today it houses 2 permanent exhibitions:

in the part where the pharmacy used to be: History of the health culture of Vršac
and in the residential part: Memory of Paja Jovanović - here you will be able to see the memorial collection of this prominent artist, as well as Paja's famous Triptych (Trade, Grape Harvest and Farming).

How to get to the Pharmacy on the stairs?
The former pharmacy, and today's part of the City Museum is located only 400 meters from the center of Vrsac, so you can reach it in 5 minutes on foot (across the Square of St. Theodore of Vrsac). If you start from Belgrade, you can reach the Pharmacy on the stairs in an hour and a half by car (via Route 10).

Ticket prices and opening hours

The pharmacy on the stairs is not only open on Mondays, so you are free to visit it on all other days.
Working hours from Tuesday to Friday are from 10 am to 4 pm, while on weekends it is from 10 am to 5 pm.
The entrance price is symbolic and amounts to only 100 dinars.