Apoteket Svanen is a pharmacy that was located at one address on Kyrkogatan in Lund, opposite the cathedral, as 1627. The real street house, where the pharmacy is located, was built in 1862, but underwent extensive reconstruction in 1897-1899, designed and led by architect Volke Zeterwall, son of Helgo Zeterwall, who restored the cathedral of Lund, but the entrance portal in the sandstone was added in 1920, based on drawings by Theodor Wohlin. The pharmacy still preserves the old decor from the late 19th century.
The swan is considered one of the most interesting cultural pharmacies in the country, especially thanks to its wood carvings and intaglio inserts made of English satin walnut. The lush decoration is dominated by carved swans as well as jewelry made from classic Art Nouveau medications with the influence of English arts and crafts movement . Also worth noting are stained glass paintings by the artist Anders Nilsson (1859-1936) depicting the young goddess Idun with apples and a portrait of the pharmacy owner Fredrik Montelin . Above the entrance is the sentence "Preserved Hope I" as a record (Spem retinete vos quo intratis).
The grey and blue plaster exterior is dominated by horizontal patterned stripes in the so-called sgraffito technology, as well as thin cast-iron columns that carry shop windows to the street. Screens with additional swan motifs are engraved through the windows. Under a roof canopy on the corner of Klostergatan / Kirkogatan, the god of healing Apollo can be seen along with the dolphins that are its hallmark. On top are also wind velvet with a classic pharmacy symbol with a poisoned bowl and snake, as well as a flying swan.
Over time, the well-preserved pharmacy became the "cultural pharmacy" in Apothexbolaget, while other pharmacies in the central part of the Lund offered a more complete range of services, such as the Apothecate Hjorten in Martenstorgheta and the Apothecate C: T Knut in Knut den Stors trades. In 2002, Swan was close to closing after a rent dispute, but was saved this time.
When the monopoly pharmacy was abolished in 2010, Swan remained state-owned by Apoteket AB, while other pharmacies in central Lund were sold to private operators. Swan was the only Apoteket AB pharmacy in central Lund until October 2016, when a new pharmacy opened in the old Tornabanken building in Martenstorghet.
In May 2019 it was announced that the Swan pharmacy would be closed. The closing date was set for May 29, 2019. This led to protests, and the municipal government of Lund wrote Apoteket AB. The day before closing, Apoteket AB announced that the closure would be postponed. Instead, the pharmacy was open for a few more weeks before it was closed for the holidays of June 14. The swan reopened on September 16th.
