The Village Doctor is particularly proud of the apothecary set-up from Heusden. The first mention of an apothecary in the small town in Brabant dates back to 1648. The setup as you see it today comes from the 18th century. For Heusden residents, it was a familiar place: the pharmacy in the stately building on the Botermarkt.
Visitors entering the shop for the first time must have stared open-mouthed at the interior. The cupboard space covers a total of 8.5 metres and the counter alone is almost four metres long. The cabinets are fashionably decorated in empire style, with turned wood and a profusion of gold leaf. In 92 drawers under the counter and in dozens of earthenware jars, the apothecary kept medicinal substances, such as opium that was used as the raw material for many medicines.
Many of the 18th-century medicines have long since gone out of fashion. Garlic, for example, the apothecary sold to fight vampires. Did the people of Heusden really think Dracula resided in their midst?