Description of the attraction
The corner house, located at the intersection of Kremsergasse and Wenerstraße, is featured in all St. Pölten travel guides. There is an old pharmacy "At the Golden Lion", which has been operating since 1545. A pharmacy on the first floor of a three-story building was opened by Josef Köningsdofer, the first pharmacist in the city to have his own coat of arms. At the beginning of the 17th century, this emblem was placed on one of the facades of the pharmacy. She is there now. In 1728, the building was completely rebuilt in the Baroque style. The reconstruction was supervised by the famous architect Josef Mungenast, who had already worked a year earlier on the restoration of the St. Pölten Town Hall. Probably at that time a niche was made at the corner of the building, where a statue of the Virgin Mary, made in the 16th-17th centuries, was placed. The sculpture we see now is a copy. The original was placed in the city museum to avoid destruction.
In the first half of the 19th century, the “U Zolotogo Lev” pharmacy became the property of the city burgomaster August Hassak. His family owned this building for a long time. Hassak's son, Oscar, gave the pharmacy his name in 1876. In official documents, it became known as Hassak Pharmacy.
Currently, the "U Zolotogo Lev" pharmacy continues to function. It is privately owned. Its owner, Andreas Gentsch, who bought the building and thus the pharmacy in 2005, is a pharmacist by profession. His wife Monica is involved in the restoration of old buildings. Thanks to her, the pharmacy "U Zolotogo Lev" received a second youth: the old interior was restored here, including wooden furniture and massive showcases, characteristic of the Biedermeier era.
