Find a pharmacy in Oldenburg
Oldenburg's pharmacy network covers a compact Lower Saxon city of roughly 170,000 residents, with 28 verified Apotheken in the PillsCard directory serving the wider Oldenburger Land catchment that pulls in commuters from Wardenburg, Hatten and Bad Zwischenahn. The user base skews toward an older residential population alongside a sizeable student cohort from the Carl von Ossietzky University, plus staff and outpatients tied to the Klinikum Oldenburg and the Pius-Hospital — both of which generate steady prescription flow for oncology, cardiology and obstetric follow-up. Pharmacies cluster densely inside the Wallring around the Lambertikirche and along Lange Straße, with secondary concentrations near Bahnhof Oldenburg and across the residential belts of Donnerschwee, Eversten and Osternburg where weekend duty rotations matter most.
The market is fragmented in the typical German pattern — owner-operated single Apotheken dominate, since chain ownership remains restricted under the Apothekengesetz to a maximum of four branches per pharmacist. In the historic core you will find Hankens Alexander Apotheke and the Lamberti-Apotheke-Fröhlich operating beside the cathedral square, while City Apotheke and Pluspunkt-Apotheke Elisengang serve the pedestrian retail flow along Heiligengeistwall. Neighbourhood demand is met by Mühlenhof-Apotheke and Gartentor-Apotheke toward the inner suburbs, with Hummel-Apotheke, Viktoria-Apotheke, Wunderburg-Apotheke and Apotheke Donnerschwee anchoring the eastern and southern residential districts. Several maintain compounding labs (Rezeptur) and palliative-care supply contracts with district nursing services.
Pricing & coverage
Prescription medicines dispensed under GKV statutory insurance carry a fixed co-payment of 5–10 EUR per item, capped at 2% of annual gross income (1% for chronic patients). Over-the-counter purchases are paid out of pocket: a standard ibuprofen 400 mg pack runs 4–8 EUR, a course of broad-spectrum antibiotics 15–30 EUR before reimbursement, and emergency contraception around 16–35 EUR. PKV private insurance typically reimburses the full Apothekenverkaufspreis set under the Arzneimittelpreisverordnung. The federal regulator BfArM governs approval, pharmacovigilance and the Securpharm anti-counterfeit verification that every German pharmacy must run at point of sale.
Emergencies & out-of-hours care
Outside regular hours, Oldenburg runs the standard Apotheken-Notdienst — a rotating duty roster where a handful of pharmacies stay open overnight and on Sundays, posted on the door of every closed Apotheke and searchable by postcode through the Apothekerkammer Niedersachsen or by phoning 22 8 33 from a landline. For acute medical emergencies dial 112; the Klinikum Oldenburg on Rahel-Straus-Straße and the Pius-Hospital on Georgstraße run the regional A&E intake. Non-urgent after-hours medical consultations route through the nationwide 116 117 ärztlicher Bereitschaftsdienst line.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get an English-speaking pharmacist in Oldenburg?
Most Apotheken near the university quarter and the city centre — including those along Lange Straße and around Julius-Mosen-Platz — have at least one staff member comfortable in English, reflecting the international student population at Carl von Ossietzky University. Outside the Wallring it becomes patchier. Bring your prescription with the active ingredient name (INN) rather than only a foreign brand name, since German pharmacists substitute by molecule and dose under the aut-idem rule built into the GKV framework.
Are foreign prescriptions accepted?
EU/EEA prescriptions issued on the standardised cross-border template are dispensable in Oldenburg under Directive 2011/24/EU, though payment is upfront and reimbursement runs through your home insurer. Non-EU prescriptions are not directly fillable — you will need a German physician to reissue. Controlled substances (Betäubungsmittel) require a special yellow BtM prescription regardless of origin, and pharmacists in Oldenburg will refuse anything outside that form.
Do Oldenburg pharmacies compound custom formulations?
Yes — Rezeptur compounding is a regulated competency every German Apotheke must maintain. Mühlenhof-Apotheke and several owner-operated houses in the older districts run active compounding labs for paediatric dosing, dermatological bases and palliative liquid formulations supplied to the home-care nursing services across Ammerland and Oldenburg-Stadt.
Is night-duty service free to use?
The pharmacy itself is open to anyone, but a statutory Notdienstgebühr of 2.50 EUR is added to each prescription dispensed between 20:00 and 06:00 or on Sundays and public holidays. GKV insurers reimburse the fee for covered prescription items; OTC purchases at night carry the surcharge with no rebate.
Where do I find a pharmacy near Klinikum Oldenburg?
The Klinikum sits in the north-eastern Eversten/Bümmerstede corridor; the closest Apotheken cluster along Cloppenburger Straße and Alexanderstraße, including Hankens Alexander Apotheke. The Pius-Hospital area near Georgstraße is served by City Apotheke and several houses on the Heiligengeistwall ring.
Safety note
This directory is informational only and is not medical advice. Patients should consult a licensed pharmacy in Oldenburg for individual clinical decisions about medicines, interactions or dosing.