Soon after the First World War and the separation of South Tyrol from the motherland, the desire for a pharmacy in Sillian arose. The most important reason was that the pharmacy in San Candido, which had previously belonged to the judicial district of Sillian and was geographically closest, was practically no longer accessible due to the demarcation of the border. An application for the establishment of a public pharmacy in Sillian was therefore submitted to the Lienz district authority. However, there were voices in the BH Lienz that were decidedly against such a new establishment. First and foremost, they saw a threat to the existence of the (then only!) pharmacy in Lienz – but there were also fears that the establishment of a pharmacy in Sillian could “set a precedent” and that other public facilities could then be established outside of Lienz, thereby diminishing the importance of the district capital. There were even threats of a “separation of the district of Lienz from Tyrol” if a pharmacy were to be built in Sillian! This matter even made waves as far away as Vienna.

On May 6, 1920, the “Neue Freie Presse” reported on “the threat of the Lienz deputies in the Tyrolean parliament that the district of Lienz would join Carinthia if a pharmacy were to be built in Sillian”! Other Viennese newspapers also reported with a certain amount of malice about how far Tyrolean patriotism must already have sunk if they intended to say goodbye to Tyrol because of a new pharmacy! In this context, it should be borne in mind that a final constitution for Austria was only issued in October 1920, that there were still border changes afterwards and that Austria in general was still in a state of upheaval and consolidation at the time. So there were numerous and much more important things still to be clarified – from today’s perspective, the dispute over a pharmacy reorganization may seem somewhat bizarre….

In 1922, a license was granted after all – but the approved pharmacy was never actually opened.

It was only after the Second World War that the mayor of Sillian, Johann Herrnegger (mayor from 1946 – 1962), pleaded for the absolute necessity of a public pharmacy and lobbied the responsible member of parliament. Dr. Alois Lugger and at the same time recommended Dr. Senta Zaleski as a concessionaire. He argued that she had lived nearby for years and was extremely popular with the local population. He also cited the destruction of her Viennese apartment during the war and the loss of her pharmacy in Vienna. The BH Lienz did not get in the way this time either – although it did support another candidate, namely Oskar Gernot. In April 1951, both Dr. Zaleski and Mag. Gernot submitted their license applications to the Tyrolean provincial government. On July 21, 1951, the provincial government decided in favor of Gernot on the grounds that he had more seniority. Objections from Dr. Zaleski and the mayors of Sillian and Strassen were rejected.