The People and Places of the Caucasus in the Travelogues of Doctor Duchoslav Panýrek (1867–1940)

The study explores the multifaceted personality of the Czech physician Duchoslav Panýrek (1867–1940), who, in addition to his medical practice, scientific interests, and popularization of medicine, also engaged in writing and translation. Among his travelogues, those inspired by his journeys in the Caucasus hold a prominent place. As a keen observer with the insight of a physician, he documented the peculiarities of Caucasian ethnic groups at the end of the 19th century (paying particular attention to Caucasian women) and described the regions of the Caucasus he traversed, especially the Georgian Military Road and the spa town of Pyatigorsk. He compiled his contributions about his journey to the Caucasus (and other parts of the Russian Empire) in the book From the Neva to the Kura ([1901]) [Od Něvy po Kuru].