An elevator car guided at guide rails has a safety brake exerting a braking force on the guide rails in the event of non-compliance of a safety criterion. A housing of the safety brake has a wedge-shaped opening into which the guide rail is introduced, a brake body in the opening between a surface of the housing bounding the opening and a guide surface of the guide rail, an activating mechanism for transmitting an activation force to the brake body to press the brake body against the bounding surface and the guide surface, and a release mechanism connected indirectly or directly with the brake body for keeping the brake body in a rest position against the activation force. The release mechanism includes an articulated arm movable into an extended position for holding the brake body in the rest position and into a folded position for releasing the activation force.