The Oldest Herbarium of Dried Plants from Broumov
In 2026, a unique Renaissance herbarium of dried plants from the collections of the Benedictine monastery in Broumov (administered by the Museum of the Broumov Region) was made accessible online, marking the first-ever digitisation contribution from this institution. Dating from 1595, it is the oldest surviving herbarium in the Czech Republic and, at the same time, the earliest known example of this genre on Czech territory. Its compiler was Johann Brehe, a barber-surgeon from the German spa town of Überlingen on the shores of Lake Constance. The herbarium thus provides valuable evidence of the development of both botanical science and bathhouse medicine in the late sixteenth century. Most of its 358 dried and pressed plants are accompanied by German descriptions of their uses, which the author adapted from Adam Lonitzer‘s printed German herbarium. The plants are also illustrated with hand-coloured pen drawings.
Document
- Johann Brehe: Kräuterbuch (Broumov, Benedictine Abbey – Museum of the Broumov Region, 24DM00675)
