Pharmacist Alexandra Sauskina, its current director, said Kann's traditions still live on at the Tallinn pharmacy, especially when it comes to quality standards.

"Olympiada was very passionate and diligent, and she chose a field that was extremely rare for a woman at the time," she said.

Born on the island of Muhu in 1880, Olympiada Kann studied to become a pharmacist at a groundbreaking pharmacy opened just for women in St. Petersburg.

Sauskina recalled reading an old newspaper story reflecting the ridicule women in the profession faced at the time, adding that a comedy was even staged in town poking fun at them.

"It ended up being good advertising," she added, "because people who saw the play wanted to go see if women really could manage to work as pharmacists."

Kann, meanwhile, was also an active community figure, organizing theater performances, fairs and even an Estonian-language school in St. Petersburg, ensuring her children could receive an Estonian-language education while living abroad.

Back to Estonia by prisoner exchange

Sauskina explained that the Russian Revolution upended Kann's life: she was imprisoned for a time, but was returned to Estonia in a prisoner exchange thanks to her brothers' influential positions.

"If it weren't for the revolution, we may not even know much about her, as she would have remained living in St. Petersburg," Sauskina acknowledged.

Once back in Estonia, she built a pharmacy from the ground up, establishing the foundation for the pharmacy still operating today on Pärnu maantee.

Suur-Pärnu Pharmacy plans to create a museum featuring items such as an old address book containing Kann's formulas for everything from abortion pills to hair dyes.

Sauskina noted that it's no longer practical for pharmacies to compound their own medicines on-site, but the detailed formulas attest to Kann's precision and care.

The wear and tear, she added, shows just how much the book of formulas was used.

A detailed chronicle kept over the years even includes old photos of women working at the pharmacy chopping wood to heat the old building in winter.

The pharmacy also still has the original, highly precise analytical scale Kann used to weigh ingredients.

Today, pharmacists' focus more on helping customers than mixing medicines. Sauskina, who wants to share Kann's legacy with the public, said she hopes to connect with people who remember the old pharmacy as well as gather stories about the newer building.

"It would be wonderful to collect these stories," she added.

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