Rector Jacek Niklinski established the Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy at the Medical University of Bialystok in 2011. It's at the main seat of the University – the Branicki Palace. This is one of the most interesting Baroque residences of Central Europe.

The museum cultivates the medical heritage of Bialystok initiated by the owners of the city in the 17th century. Inside the Palace, it's possible to learn about the workings of the Institute of Midwifery from the 18th century as well as of a German World War I field hospital.

Protecting the medical and pharmaceutical heritage

The main goal of the museum is to protect the medical and pharmaceutical heritage developed at the border of the Polish Crown and The Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Objects date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. They represent various fields of medicine and pharmacology. The collection includes an X-ray machine from 1921, dentist’s chairs from the turn of the 19th century, furnishings of a gynecological clinic from the period between the two world wars, surgical tools from the beginning of the 20th century as well as anatomic and pathological preparations.

A walk through specialties

It's also possible to learn about the history of the Medical University of Bialystok through the recollections of the school’s first students and lecturers. A visit to the museum is an interactive stroll into the past. You enter the offices of a dentist, an eye doctor, a gynecologist, an X-ray room, a drug-making laboratory, or the workroom of the anatomist of old.

Arrangement of the exhibitions allows the visitor to discover the secrets of medicine and pharmacology using all senses. The facility also plays the role of research and educational center related to the history of medicine and pharmacology for students of the University. Additionally, the museum organizes educational workshops addressed to any interested person. The participants learn about the work of a doctor or a pharmacist and make their own souvenirs to remind them of their visit to the Museum.

Museum in the middle of cultural life

The museum has become a fixture in the cultural calendar of Bialystok and the Podlasie region. Every year the facility participates in such events as:

The Long Night of Museums,

European Heritage Days,

The European Day of Academic Heritage,

The Podlaskie Science and Art Festival,

Open Days at the MUB,

Children’s Week,

„Zubroffka” International Short Film Festival.

Other events promoting the medical heritage of Podlaskie region are also organized. They include temporary exhibitions, book promotions, concerts, or historical reconstructions. In 2013 and 2014 the Museum received an award for „the Most Interesting Museum Event of the Year in Podlaskie” competition.