Heritage of Healing Gardens – Budapest Hosts the International Conference on Herbaria

Official invitation poster of the “Heritage of Healing Gardens” conference at the Semmelweis Museum of the History of Medicine in Budapest, Hungary.

An event intertwining science, culture and memory

Organised by the MNMKK Semmelweis Museum, Library and Archives of the History of Medicine, the conference Gyógyító kertek öröksége – Heritage of Healing Gardens explores the research potential of herbaria and pharmaceutical manuals as sources of historical, botanical and anthropological knowledge.

The initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance Europe’s heritage linked to materia medica, underlining the role of the Hungarian museum as a centre of excellence for the study of the history of medicine and pharmacy.

Simona Tardi from Aromas Itinerarium Salutis with Sergei Bazarya, Programme Manager at the Council of Europe, during the 2025 European Heritage Days Assembly in Strasbourg

AIS Delegation Visits Semmelweis Museum, Library and Archive of the History of Medicine. Budapest 2024 © AIS

A programme rich in interdisciplinary perspectives

The scientific programme gathers more than thirty speakers from museums and academic institutions across Europe, including members of the Aromas Itinerarium Salutis Cultural Route.

The international English-language session — the Aromas Section — features presentations by researchers and professionals from Argentina, Lithuania and Spain:

Laura Bolli Iribarren (Switzerland–France / Argentina)
Iris Laura Rodríguez de Sala and Leandro Sala (LL Yuyos Medicinal Garden, Argentina)
Ona Ragažinskienė (Vytautas Magnus University Botanical Garden, Lithuania)
Luis Jordán Garcia (Hospital Illa del Rei, Menorca, Spain)

Introduced by Varga Benedek, Director General of the Semmelweis Museum, this session offers a space for dialogue among AIS members on the contemporary value of medicinal gardens and on the connections between tradition, science and cultural heritage.

A bridge between European knowledge traditions

The conference reaffirms the vocation of the Semmelweis Museum — one of the leading institutions of the AIS network — as a place of research and dissemination dedicated to the heritage of historical pharmacy.

From the works of Dioscorides to the manuscripts of János Kájoni, and to today’s therapeutic gardens, the event highlights how knowledge of medicinal plants remains a shared heritage of memory, identity and innovation.