Close to Puerta del Sol, this century-old chemist’s is named after the former Victoria Church, which was demolished during Mendizábal’s confiscation of church property. Joaquín Olmedilla y Garrido opened this business between 1854 and 1864 (the exact year is unknown).
On the death of its founder in 1875, the business passed to his wife and son, who sold it to Ildefonso Setién in 1903. He then sold it to Ildefonso de las Heras in 1905.
While it was run by De las Heras, the chemist’s real owner was the priest, Ulpiano Santos García, a passionate enthusiast of medicinal plants and a scholar of masterful formulas, who developed the product “HUROL-E”, which was used to relieve pain and won the Gold Medal at the 1912 Barcelona World Fair for best formulation. Today it is a registered trademark and is still sold at this chemist’s.
From 1930 to 1940, the chemist’s was run by Emilio Santos Luna. His sister took over, followed by his nephew.
In 2000, ownership passed to Francisca Yeste Moreno, a licensed pharmacist and the current owner, who has implemented health promotion and prevention strategies through herbal medicine, and has developed her own line of supplements, which round off the HUROL brand along with the traditional preparations that continue to be made here.
The small shop features wooden furniture in white and glass shelves with a mirrored background, presided by a wooden counter with a white marble worktop, and its façade is in red wood.
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