Registration in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register

In 2025, a collection of autograph documents by Pavel Josef Šafařík was inscribed in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register. This collection, housed in the Map Collection of the Faculty of Science at Charles University in Prague, includes unique maps by the Slavist Pavel Josef Šafařík. It contains 88 items from the years 1821–1851, which attest to the extraordinary significance of Šafařík’s scholarly work.

Pavel Josef Šafařík was the founder of the newly emerging scientific field of ethnography and the creator of thematic ethnographic-linguistic maps. His original cartographic method influenced professional practices even beyond the borders of the Czech lands. The global significance of Šafařík’s work lies in his unique research method, which combines comparative linguistics, history, geography, cartography, and toponymy.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks go to the emeritus chairman of the Czech National Commission for UNESCO, Dr. Michal Beneš, who initiated the inscription and provided the authors with valuable consultation.

We also thank Ms. Dita Limová, Head of the UNESCO Relations Department at the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, for her support.

Our thanks also go to the members of the Czech National Commission for UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, who recommended the nomination. We also express our deep gratitude to the leadership of the Faculty of Science at Charles University and the Geography Section for their long-standing support in preparing the nomination.

We also appreciate the cooperation with our international colleagues, who generously provided their professional expertise. Finally, we thank the UNESCO Executive Board for awarding this prestigious certificate, which we deeply value.

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