The Moulagenmuseum at the University Hospital is a small but unforgettable specialist museum displaying around 1,800 medical wax models — moulages — most produced between 1917 and 1950 by the legendary Zurich modeller Lotte Volger. The wax casts, lifted directly from real patients, depict skin conditions, infectious diseases, war wounds and rare physical abnormalities in extraordinarily realistic detail.
The displays are arranged across two floors in subdued lighting that suits the subject matter. The combination of fine craftsmanship and serious medical record-keeping makes for a haunting hour: these are real people whose conditions were preserved for medical teaching, complete with case notes. Not for those of a queasy disposition; otherwise a one-of-a-kind window into pre-antibiotic medicine and the lost craft of medical illustration. Open Wednesday and Saturday afternoons only — check before going.