Zdeněk Kostrouch

MD Zdeněk Kostrouch was a unique figure in the Bohemian Forest and was also called the “doctor on horseback.” From 1964 to 1993, he lived in Hájenko Pustina. Kostrouch originally wanted to go to Africa as a doctor, but ultimately stayed in the Bohemian Forest. He himself recounted how he came to own the horse: “I had an old piccolo flute that I always rode to patients with, and I always had two spare horses with me in case we got stuck. One day, they said to me, ‘Look, Doctor, you have a horse over there. Whisper in his ear that you want to go to Záluží, and he will take you there.’ The horse was then sold to me for 520 crowns, and I learned that horses can be driven easily in the Bohemian Forest.” The doctor recounted his first encounter with the Hermitage: “In the 1950s, I was driving from Hartmanice to Kašperské Hory and saw a column of smoke in my rearview mirror. A flash of lightning and it was gone. The Hermitage was then overgrown with nettles.

And in the spring of 1964, they wanted to demolish it because it was located in the Dobrá Voda military district. Thanks to my contacts, I was able to prevent the demolition order and moved in myself.” Kostrouch founded a farm in Pustina, established a library, and furnished one of the rooms with antique furniture. Since transport to his practice in Hartmanice was very difficult, especially in winter, Dr. Kostrouch owned horses, which he also used to transport patients. His sons also used horses. His first wife was MUDr. Helena Kostrouchová – a doctor in Kašperské Hory. She was the daughter of Ottla Davidová (Kafková), the sister of the writer Franz Kafka. Her sister, Věra Saudková, was the editor of Lidové noviny and the Odeon and Svoboda publishing houses. His retirement and his second marriage proved fatal for the famous doctor. After his death, everything was taken away or grew moldy. Within a few years, the farmstead fell into complete disrepair. A memorial plaque near the forester’s lodge commemorates his stay in Pustina, with the text: “Here in Pustina he lived and worked from 1964 to 1993, MUDr. Zdeněk Kostrouch, a small, great man, a doctor who brings light and ability, a savior, a dreamer, an idealist, a deeply human being… A medical legend of the Bohemian Forest.”

https://www.sumava.cz/rozcestnik/kultura-a-pamatky/osobnosti/kostrouch-zdenek-mudr