Pavol Šafárik
1761–1831Born in Štítnik, where he attended the Latin school. He taught for about 15 years and then became the Lutheran pastor of Kobeliarovo.
The memorial house is temporarily closed. According to the village, the P. J. Šafárik Memorial House has been closed for a full renovation since February 2026 until further notice. Please check with the village office before you travel: +421 58 795 12 43.
13 May 1795born in Kobeliarovo
1466first written record of the village
461 mvillage elevation
18 kmfrom Rožňava
Life
From a village parsonage to Prague University Library
He grew up in Gemer, studied in Kežmarok and Jena, taught in Novi Sad and did his greatest scholarly work in Prague.
Childhood and studies
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1795
Kobeliarovo
Born on 13 May to the Lutheran pastor Pavol Šafárik, who came from Štítnik.
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1805–1808
Rožňava
Lower grammar school.
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1808–1810
Dobšiná
Grammar school.
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1810–1814
Kežmarok
Lutheran lyceum. He began writing here; his collection Tatranská múza s lýrou slovanskou was published in Levoča in 1814.
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1815–1817
Jena
University: history, philology, philosophy and natural sciences. The poet becomes a scholar.
Bratislava and Novi Sad
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1817–1819
Bratislava
Private tutor to town families. With František Palacký he publishes Počátkové českého básnictví (1818).
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1819–1833
Novi Sad
Headmaster and teacher at the Serbian Orthodox grammar school. Collects folk songs and in 1826 publishes a history of Slavic languages and literatures.
Prague
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1833
Prague
Moves to Prague. Edits the magazine Světozor and later the Journal of the Czech Museum.
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1837
Prague
Slovanské starožitnosti (Slavic Antiquities) is published, followed by Slovanský národopis (Slavic Ethnography) in 1842.
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1848
Prague
Director of Prague University Library and associate professor of Slavic philology.
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1861
Prague
Dies on 26 June. Buried in Karlín; in 1900 his remains were moved to Olšany Cemeteries.
In his own words
Šafárik on himself
Šafárik wrote a short autobiography, probably when he moved to Prague. In it he writes about himself in the third person.
Until the age of eleven he was carefully brought up in the quiet family circle by his virtuous, devout parents and taught the first basics of knowledge, and already as a young boy he showed an unusual eagerness to learn.
Although he came from Slavic parents and grew up among Slavs, until the age of sixteen he neither knew nor valued his nation or his mother tongue…
…until by chance a Czech essay by the Prague professor J. Jungmann on the value of the mother tongue and national education came into his hands, and it moved him very deeply.
Our translation from the Slovak edition of his autobiography. Read the full autobiography in Slovak at Zlatý fond SME →
Family
The Šafárik family
Šafárik came from the family of a Lutheran pastor and teacher. Among his descendants are a chemist and astronomer and a renowned historian.
Katarína, née Káresová
1764–1812She came from a poor lower-gentry family in Hanková. She died when her son was seventeen.
Ján, Mária, Ľudovít Samuel
Pavol Jozef was the youngest. An older brother of the same name died at one year old before he was born. After their mother's death, the father remarried in 1813.
Júlia, née Ambrózy
1803–1876They married on 17 June 1822 in Novi Sad. They had several children, though some died very young. She outlived her husband by fifteen years.
Vojtěch Šafařík
1829–1902Chemist, astronomer and professor in Prague. A crater on the far side of the Moon and the minor planet (8336) Šafařík are named after him.
Konstantin Jireček
1854–1918Son of Šafárik's daughter Božena and the literary historian Josef Jireček. Historian and Slavist, founder of Czech Balkan studies.
Village history
Seven centuries of Kobeliarovo
A farming and mining village in north-eastern Gemer. People lived from agriculture, home linen weaving and mining.
- Farming
- Home linen weaving
- Mining
1466first written record
1203 hamunicipal area
461 melevation
515inhabitants (village data)
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c. 1300
The early Gothic church is built, the oldest building in the village.
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14th century
The mining hamlet of Filipovo grows up on village land, recorded in 1362 as Phylyphaza. It is abandoned in the mid-15th century.
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1466
First written record, as Fekethepatak. The village belongs to the Bebek family of Štítnik, later to the Andrássy family.
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1795
Pavol Jozef Šafárik is born in the Lutheran parsonage.
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1828
A census records 54 houses and 436 inhabitants.
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until 1918
The village is part of Gemer-Malohont (Gömör-Kishont) County. In 1910 it has 344 inhabitants.
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23 Jan 1945
Soviet and Romanian troops liberate the village.
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1978–1986
The former parsonage is restored (1978–1983) and opens in 1986 as the P. J. Šafárik Memorial House.
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2026
560 years since the first record and 165 years since Šafárik's death. The memorial house is being renovated.
Works
Five books worth knowing
Šafárik wrote in Slovak, Czech, German and Latin. His work laid the foundations of scholarly Slavic studies.
Tatranská múza s lýrou slovanskou
The Tatra Muse with a Slavic Lyre: his only poetry collection, written as a young student in Kežmarok.
Počátkové českého básnictví, obzvláště prozodie
Principles of Czech Poetry, written together with František Palacký, on the rules of verse.
Geschichte der slawischen Sprache und Literatur nach allen Mundarten
A history of the Slavic language and literature in all its dialects, written in German in Novi Sad.
Slovanské starožitnosti
Slavic Antiquities: a monumental work on the origins and early history of the Slavs.
Slovanský národopis
Slavic Ethnography: a survey of the Slavic world of his day, its peoples and languages.
What to see
Three stops in Kobeliarovo
The village lies in the Slovak Ore Mountains. All three can be combined into one short walk.
Closed for renovation
P. J. Šafárik Memorial House
The former Lutheran parsonage where Šafárik was born. Restored in 1978–1983 and opened as a museum in 1986. The exhibition covers his family, studies, years in Bratislava, Novi Sad and Prague, manuscripts and first editions.
Monument
Lutheran church
A single-nave early Gothic church from around 1300–1310 with a front tower. The neoclassical altar from the first half of the 19th century shows the Baptism of Christ. Šafárik's father preached here.
Spring event
Ždiarik
The hill above the village. Every year the village organises a hike up Ždiarik, once held under the name In the Footsteps of P. J. Šafárik, followed by goulash for everyone.
Šafárik's journey
A life on one map
The main places where Šafárik studied, taught and researched, at their true distances from each other.
The map is drawn from geographic coordinates. Rožňava and Dobšiná lie right next to Kobeliarovo. On his way home from Jena in 1817 he stopped in Prague.
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1
Kobeliarovo 1795–1810
Birthplace; schools in Rožňava and Dobšiná.
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2
Kežmarok 1810–1815
Lyceum and first poems.
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3
Jena 1815–1817
University studies.
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4
Prague 1817
Meets Dobrovský and Jungmann.
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5
Bratislava 1817–1819
Tutor; friendship with Palacký.
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6
Novi Sad 1819–1833
Grammar school headmaster.
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7
Prague 1833–1861
His major scholarly work.
Šafárik's places
Where to find him today
The towns where Šafárik lived and worked remember him with plaques and with street and school names. Ideas for trips in his footsteps.
Kobeliarovo
His birthplace, today the P. J. Šafárik Memorial House, and the early Gothic church where his father preached.
Štítnik
Šafárik's father was born, went to the Latin school and taught here. The town has a Gothic Lutheran church with medieval frescoes.
Rožňava
He attended the lower grammar school here. Today the Pavol Jozef Šafárik Grammar School and Šafárikova Street, home of the Mining Museum, bear his name.
Kežmarok
He studied at the Lutheran lyceum and lived in the house at today's Hlavné námestie 24. A memorial plaque has been on the house since 2004.
Bratislava
He worked here as a tutor and became friends with František Palacký. Šafárikovo námestie in the Old Town is named after him.
Novi Sad
He headed the Serbian Orthodox grammar school and married here in 1822. A street in the city centre and two Slovak associations bear his name.
Prague
He worked at the University Library in the Clementinum, which he headed from 1848. Vinohrady has a Šafaříkova street, and his grave is at Olšany Cemeteries.
Košice
Pavol Jozef Šafárik University, founded in 1959, bears his name.
Day trips
A day out with the family
Kobeliarovo is close to several sights of the Gemer region. Combine them into a family day trip.
Gothic Lutheran church
Wall paintings from the 14th to 16th centuries cover about 200 m², among the most extensive in Slovakia. Šafárik's father was born in Štítnik.
Birthplace of Pavol Dobšinský
A museum of the great collector of Slovak fairy tales. A good stop with children.
Ochtiná Aragonite Cave
A rare cave decorated with aragonite, part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mining Museum and Sentinel centre
An interactive centre on mining and nature in Gemer, on Šafárikova Street. A small mine train runs in season.
Betliar Manor House
A manor house with its original furnishings and a large park, about 7 km from Rožňava.
Suggested route
Morning in Kobeliarovo (the church and the birthplace from outside), then the Gothic church in Štítnik, where Šafárik's father was born. In the afternoon, Ochtiná Aragonite Cave or the interactive Sentinel centre in Rožňava.
Opening hours of the cave, churches and museums change with the season. Please check before you go.
For kids and parents
Did you know…
Šafárik wrote his name in several ways: Safáry, Šafařík and Šafárik.
In Hungarian Kobeliarovo is called Kisfeketepatak, earlier Feketepatak, meaning Black Brook. In 1466 it was recorded as Fekethepatak.
As a student in Kežmarok he said he danced for just one winter, and even then like a young bear.
Since 1959 the university in Košice has carried his name.
His father was born in Štítnik and taught there before moving to Kobeliarovo.
Above his grave in Prague stands the original sandstone sarcophagus with an Old Serbian inscription.
Questions and answers
Frequently asked questions
Where was Pavol Jozef Šafárik born?
He was born on 13 May 1795 in Kobeliarovo, Rožňava district, eastern Slovakia, in the former Lutheran parsonage. Today it houses the P. J. Šafárik Memorial House.
Why is Šafárik important?
He was a poet, historian, linguist and ethnographer and the founder of scholarly Slavic studies. His main works are Slavic Antiquities (1837) and Slavic Ethnography (1842). The university in Košice has carried his name since 1959.
Is the P. J. Šafárik Memorial House open?
It has been closed for a full renovation since February 2026 until further notice. The Kobeliarovo village office can tell you the current status: +421 58 795 12 43.
How do I get to Kobeliarovo?
The village lies 18 km north-west of Rožňava, about 6 km off the Rožňava – Dobšiná road. The memorial house is at 48.7445° N, 20.3694° E.
Where is Šafárik buried?
He died in Prague on 26 June 1861. He is buried at Olšany Cemeteries (1st General Cemetery, section 3, grave no. 1), where his remains were moved from Karlín in 1900.
What is worth seeing nearby?
In the village, the early Gothic Lutheran church and the hike up Ždiarik. Nearby, the Gothic church in Štítnik, Pavol Dobšinský's birthplace in Slavošovce, Ochtiná Aragonite Cave (UNESCO), the Mining Museum and Sentinel centre in Rožňava and Betliar Manor.
Practical information
Planning a visit?
- Status
- Closed for renovation since February 2026
- Address
- P. J. Šafárik Memorial House
049 23 Kobeliarovo, Rožňava district, Slovakia - Location
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18 km north-west of Rožňava, about 6 km off the Rožňava – Dobšiná road.
48.7445° N, 20.3694° E · Open in maps - Admission
- Adults €1.00, children €0.50
- Contact
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Kobeliarovo village office
+421 58 795 12 43
obec@kobeliarovo.sk - Visits
- By arrangement during office hours:
Mon–Thu 7:00–15:30, Fri 7:00–12:30 - Weekends
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Arrange weekend visits in advance by email:
starosta@kobeliarovo.sk - Grave in Prague
- Olšany Cemeteries (Olšanské hřbitovy), 1st General Cemetery, section 3, grave no. 1. Tram stop Olšanské hřbitovy.