Medicinal plants are wild and cultivated plants that are used in healing. They can be processed to medicine either fresh or dried. Depending on the part that is used, medicine made from plants is differentiated into root, herb, flower, leaf, bark, or seed drugs. Knowledge about their effects was passed on and expanded for centuries.
From the abundance of plant material in the prehistoric and early settlements in Central Europe, it is clear that the oldest and most commonly used medicinal plants probably had cleansing effects (blood-cleansing, draining, laxative). The second most common were plants to help coughs, heal wounds, and stop bleeding.
Poisons, plants that triggered hallucinations, and those that stopped cramping were also very important. Their active ingredients and thus also their effects depended on the locations where they were grown (climate, soil, plant community). With improper handling, they could quickly become dangerous or at least have undesired effects for human metabolism.
The famous abbess Hildegard von Bingen (1098 - 1180 AD) wrote an extensive description of the medicinal plants used in Central Europe during the Middle Ages together with their healing abilities. With the help of even older descriptions and finds, the early history of pharmacology can be traced.
Print version of the complete historical tour (German)
Print version of Stop 10 (German)
Flyer Historical Tour (English)
