Šafov: Baroque Frescoes, Fishponds and Cycling

Šafov brings together sacred art, historic sites of remembrance, five fishponds and cycling, offering several concrete ways to plan your trip. The Church of St. Bartholomew stands in the village square; the pedestal of a statue of St. John of Nepomuk bears the year 1728, and a Jewish cemetery lies near the village. The Greenway Prague–Vienna cycling route also passes through Šafov on its section in the Znojmo area. When planning, first decide whether you want to focus on local culture or cycling.

Church of St. Bartholomew in the village square

The Church of St. Bartholomew stands in Šafov’s village square. Its baroque interior features frescoes depicting the legend of St. Bartholomew, painted by Josef and Václav Kramolín. This brings together a specific location, a distinct subject and the names of the two painters. For travelers interested in culture, this is more than a general description as baroque: the legend gives the frescoes a clearly identifiable subject, while the artists’ names provide an additional connection to the paintings. The place, subject and creators offer a way to understand Šafov’s religious heritage.

Sculpture and the Jewish cemetery

Another cultural feature is Šafov’s sandstone statue of St. John of Nepomuk. It stands on a tall, slender, three-tiered pedestal. An inscription on it bears the year 1728. In contrast to the frescoes, the focus here is on a single sculpture, its material, its form and the inscription on its base.

The Jewish cemetery lies near the village and is not enclosed. It contains baroque or neoclassical tombstones. This adds another historic site with its own stylistic character to the church and statue. The description leaves both styles as possible classifications of the tombstones, rather than assigning them categorically to a single period. Your trip can therefore take in a cultural landscape that is not limited to a single building.

Five fishponds around Šafov

Šafov is surrounded by five fishponds: Podvesný, Celniční, Cihelný, Hraniční and Jánský. Podvesný and Celniční are the ponds closest to the village. This makes the surroundings more specific: you can distinguish the two nearest bodies of water from the three other named ponds, rather than viewing all five as a single, undifferentiated waterscape. Alongside the church, cemetery and statue, the village’s surroundings are also characterized by several individually named ponds.

Cycling in Šafov and the wider travel area

The Greenway Prague–Vienna cycling route passes through Šafov on its section in the Znojmo area. This gives you a concrete point of reference if cycling is part of your travel plans. In the wider travel area, there is also a 53 km cycling tour to castles and chateaux in the western part of the Czech Podyjí National Park and the Austrian Thayatal National Park. The two descriptions emphasize different things: the Greenway route passes through Šafov, while the 53 km tour focuses on castles and chateaux in the two national park areas. This lets you distinguish a route with a local connection from a broader excursion destination.

Choose culture or cycling as your focus

For the second option, the Greenway route through Šafov offers a specific point of reference; the 53 km tour is part of the wider travel area.

Discover more destinations:

Starý Petřín, Dyje, Suchohrdly U Miroslavi, Kravsko, Pravice, Břežany U Znojma, Jiřice U Moravských Budějovic, Vranov nad Dyjí

Go to the overall travel overview: Okres Znojmo.