Frescoes in the Baroque interior of St Bartholomew’s Church, a Jewish cemetery with Baroque and Neoclassical tombstones, and five fish-farming ponds give Šafov several distinct themes. To find your way around, it helps to know a precise landmark in the village—the church stands in the village square—and how the nearest ponds are situated. Two cycling routes, described in different ways, are also worth considering in the wider area around your trip.

Church and Religious Art

St Bartholomew’s Church stands in the village square. Its Baroque interior features frescoes depicting the legend of St Bartholomew, painted by Josef and Václav Kramolín. This brings together two kinds of cultural information in a single motif: the legend provides the subject of the murals, while the artists’ names specify their attribution. For you, this is a clearly defined theme within Šafov: religious frescoes linked to a precise landmark in the village. The church thus provides both a specific place and a clearly identified art-historical subject.

A Monument with an Inscription

The sandstone statue of St John of Nepomuk stands on a tall, slender plinth with three steps. An inscription on the plinth bears the year 1728. The figure, its support and the inscription can therefore be described separately: sandstone identifies the statue, the three steps structure the plinth, and 1728 belongs to the inscription. While the frescoes focus on the legend of a saint, here a single figure takes centre stage. The two motifs thus offer different ways to explore religious art in Šafov.

The Jewish Cemetery and Its Tombstones

The Jewish cemetery lies very close to the village and is not enclosed. Its tombstones are Baroque and Neoclassical. This makes the cemetery a different cultural focus from the church and the statue of St John of Nepomuk: here, the tombstones and their design take centre stage. Anyone wishing to explore Šafov through its different religious heritage can consider the tombstones as a distinct subject alongside the Christian motifs. The cemetery’s proximity to the village provides a spatial reference, while the two styles describe the tombstones from an art-historical perspective.

Five Fish-Farming Ponds Around Šafov

Šafov is surrounded by five fish-farming ponds: Podvesný, Celniční, Cihelný, Hraniční and Jánský. Of these, Podvesný and Celniční are the closest ponds. The area is therefore described not only by the number of ponds; two names also serve as more precise reference points. The group of five outlines the landscape around the village, while Podvesný and Celniční indicate which ponds are closer to Šafov. Alongside the church art and tombstones, the fish-farming ponds add a different focus: they shape the landscape setting of the village.

Cycling Routes in the Wider Area

The Greenway Prague–Vienna cycling route passes through Šafov on its section in the Znojmo area. The wider area around your trip also includes a 53-kilometre cycling tour of castles and châteaux in the western part of the Czech Podyjí National Park and Austria’s Thayatal National Park. When planning your trip, it is worth noting the differences in the information provided: the Greenway’s specific connection to the village is that it passes through Šafov, while the second tour is described by its length and theme. The two routes therefore offer different perspectives on the surrounding area—one passes through the village, while the other is a longer tour of castles and châteaux in two national parks.

Discover More Destinations

Discover more destinations: Hrádek, Pravice, Bohutice, Mikulovice, Křídlůvky, Džbánice, Plaveč, Lančov

For the regional travel overview: Okres Znojmo.