History of pharmacies, healthcare and famous physicians and pharmacists from Urzȩdów

Abstract

Urzȩdów once had a city charter drawn up by King Władysław Jagiełło in 1405. It lost this right in 1896. This town which lies on what used to be one of the more frequented trade routes in Poland, was a city of cultural life and an important centre of regional government. It is now is a sleepy suburb living in the shadow of nearby Krásnik. Urzȩdów has given birth to many famous doctors and pharmacists. The villagers must be especially proud of "Marcin of Urzȩdów", a graduate of Padua, Krakow, a lecturer, a doctor and the author of a treatise on pharmacology. Among the socially-aware members of the medical community, one can also list Józef Ściegienny, Alojzy Hevelke, Ludwik Laszky, Mirosław Borkiewicz and Ignacy Wośko. While they are more locally famous, they, none-the-less, contributed to the life and fame of this now sleepy town. The first mention of a pharmaceutical enterprise within Urzȩdów was in the nineteenth century. It was run by Wincenty Trzciński and was in business for two years. In 1893, Powizor of Pharmacy (Lublin) Andrzej Michalewski opened a pharmacy in a wooden building near the church. This was burnt down in 1915. The difficult times of this war coincided with Władyslawa Sawy being active in the pharmaceutical industry in the town. Władysława Sawy, a big-hearted man, was a true model of what a pharmacist can be. At this time, much hope was pinned upon the success of the first building raised solely as a Pharmacy. Built with public funds, it was privatized as Marrina z Urzȩdowa, and run by M. Pharm Henryk Da̧browski. This man is a passionate historian of Urzȩdów and his interests, coupled with broad popular support in the town for raising awareness of its historical roots, aids anyone interested in the town and region of Urzȩdów.