The Ohly Family
The Ohly Family
Adolf Ohly, the founder and owner of the “Neue Apotheke” in Lübbecke’s pedestrian zone, is buried here. Its history dates back to 1852 and comes to an end with the closure of the business in June 2024. The name “Neue Apotheke” was chosen at the time to distinguish it from the existing pharmacy on Gänsemarkt.
By the mid-19th century, the city’s population had grown significantly, and a second pharmacy was urgently needed. Pharmacist Ohly was 32 years old—still quite young—when, in 1852, after a lengthy process, he received permission from the Royal Chief President of the Province of Westphalia to operate a pharmacy in Lübbecke. The building was constructed in 1851. As a decorative element, a statue of the Greek goddess of health, “Hygiea,” was mounted on the front of the building. The statue, which holds a bowl from which a snake drinks, still adorns the building today.
Since Ohly had no male heir, the pharmacist Wilhelm Upmeyer purchased Ohly’s pharmacy and then married his eldest daughter, Marie. Ohly’s youngest daughter married the pharmacist Oscar Petry, the owner of the Alte Apotheke. Thus, the two pharmacies were connected by family ties. Adolf Ohly died in 1890 at the age of 73. The Ohly family grave site is a listed monument and is maintained by the association “Friends and Supporters of Cemetery Culture in Lübbecke.”
On the Brunnengalerie, heading south, are the family graves of the pharmacists Upmeyer/Leue and Petry.</poi>