The Wandering Unicorn of Cluj. The Story of the Three Unicorn Pharmacies Active in the City between 1732 and 2015
The Wandering Unicorn of Cluj. The Story of the Three Unicorn Pharmacies Active in the City between 1732 and 2015

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the history of one of the most frequently relocated and transformed pharmacies of Cluj (Hu. Kolozsvár, Germ. Klausenburg). Unlike the oldest pharmacy in town, which remained stable after privatization in both location and ownership, the Unicorn (Hu. Egyszarvú, Germ. Einhorn, Lat. Unicornis) has often changed owners and location. It was the second pharmacy to open in the city and one of the few pharmacies that could be inherited. It functioned for 283 years in three locations. This case study aims at correcting already published information and analyzing the history of this pharmacy in the context of Cluj and Transylvania between the eighteenth and the twenty first century, revealing political and administrative changes, the acceptance or rejection of religious orders, town planning transformations, trends in the ethnicity and gender of pharmacists, as well as marketing strategies and cases of competition among pharmacies.

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