Santiago de Compostela is a place of pilgrimage in Galicia, Spain,
with its World Heritage-listed cathedral.
The town is named
after Saint James (Sant Jago), whose grave a hermit claims to have
found on a field of stars (Latin: Campus stellae > Compostela) in
the 9th century. Shortly thereafter, a settlement was founded, which
quickly grew into a city. Santiago became a spiritual center of the
struggle against the Moors, which is why the general Almansor was
sent to Compostela in 997 by the Emir of Cordoba. This did not
hesitate and destroyed the 100-year-old pillar basilica and the
surrounding buildings. But the city recovered from this stroke of
fate quite quickly. The Romanesque cathedral was built on the site
of the destroyed basilica as early as 1188. With the Reformation in
Europe, the flow of pilgrims to Santiago dwindled and the city
became more and more of a marginal phenomenon. This changed in the
late 18th century when pilgrims began traveling to Santiago again.
The Franco regime used the city and its saints for propaganda
purposes. From 1933 a donation to the cathedral was introduced by
law. In 1981, when Galicia gained the new status of autonomy, the
seat of the President and the Galician Parliament was established
here, although Santiago is administratively subordinate to the
provincial capital, A Coruña.
From A Coruña, the AP9 Autopista AP-9 (E1) motorway runs past the
city of Santiago to Vigo and the border with Portugal, paralleled by the
toll-free N-550.
From Lugo in the east resp. from the A6 Autovía A-6,
the N-540 leads south-west until after 16 km you have to switch to the
N-547 to reach Santiago de Compostela from the east. The N-547 ends in
the A54 Autovía del Aeroporto A-54 to the city center.
The AP53
Autopista AP-53 toll road heads southeast to Ourense, where it joins the
westbound A52 Autovía A-52 towards León. She is accompanied by the
toll-free N-525.
The AG-56 resp. the CG-1.5 under construction and
parallel the AC-543 lead west to Noia on the Ría de Muros and further
towards Fisterra.
By bicycle
Santiago is the terminus of the
European long-distance cycle route EuroVelo 3 (also called "Pilgrimage
Route" or "La Scandibérique"), which leads here from Scandinavia through
north-western Germany, Belgium and France. The Spanish Post offers the
service of sending the bike back in transport packaging.
On foot
The traditional way to get to Santiago de Compostela is by foot, on the
pilgrimage route (Way of St. James). Here is the end point of all the
Ways of St. James: Camino Francés from the French border in the
Pyrenees, Camino del Norte along the north coast of Spain, Camino de
Madrid, Caminho Português from Lisbon and the Camino a Fisterra from/to
Cabo Fisterra at the western end of mainland Europe.
The old town is traffic-calmed and therefore exploring on foot is
almost inevitable. However, the sights are largely within the old town
and can be reached within a few minutes. There are several
well-signposted car parks near the old town, such as the square at Av.
de Xoán XXIII. There are also public toilets in the car park
A
municipal bus network with approx. 20 lines is maintained by the city
bus company TUSSA. A large number of the bus stops are not recognizable
as such, it is helpful to ask locals for the nearest bus stop. To make
matters worse, the bus stops are not announced.
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela with its relics is worth
seeing. The facade of the cathedral is also depicted on the Spanish cent
coins (1, 2 and 5 euro cents).
Near the Cathedral is the Hospital
de los Reyes Católicos, which since 1509 has served as a royal hospice
to accommodate travelers coming to Santiago and is now one of the most
famous and luxurious Parador hotels. The hotel is one of the oldest in
the world. It has four courtyards, elegant rooms and a sumptuous dining
room.
The entire old town, which is protected by UNESCO and is
listed as a World Heritage Site with the cathedral and the Way of St.
James, is well worth seeing. The liveliest street in Santiago's old town
is Rúa do Franco, which leads directly to the square in front of the
Cathedral. There are numerous restaurants with Galician specialties
(Pulpo cocido, Vieira, etc.).
From the Cathedral you can exit the
old town through Rúa do Franco and then turn left along Praza de Galicia
(where there is also an information point) to the new part of the city,
where on weekdays the atmosphere is not pleasantly quiet, but lively
becomes what the everyday life of the Galegos looks like. Turning right
leads to the Alameda or Parque da Ferradura, whose promenade offers a
very nice view of the old town and the front of the cathedral. Until the
second half of the 20th century, the traditional Compostelan cattle
market took place in the shade of the trees, while at the other end of
this "horseshoe" (= Ferradura) is the monument to the Galician poet
Rosalía de Castro.
In addition to the historical sights, Santiago
de Compostela now also has modern architecture to offer. In 1995 the
Galician Center for Contemporary Art, designed by the Portuguese
architect Álvaro Siza, was completed.
In recent years, a huge
complex has been built on Mount Gaias according to designs by the
American architect Peter Eisenman, called Cidade da Cultura de Galicia /
Galicia City of Culture, which includes a museum, a theater and a
library, among other things.
university
The history of the
University of Santiago de Compostela USC (Universidade de Santiago de
Compostela) dates back to the 15th century. Today the university is
divided into a south and a north campus. The campus in Lugo is also part
of USC. Many of the university buildings in the old town are among the
sights of the city. This includes in particular the history faculty on
the Praza Universidade, the highlight of which is the library.
In a side chapel inside the cathedral, a German-language mass is
celebrated daily at 08:00 during the pilgrimage season.
German-speaking pilgrim pastoral care in Santiago de Compostela. During
the pilgrimage season, the pastoral care for pilgrims offers a guided
tour (so-called "spiritual tour") around the cathedral every day at 7
p.m. (from 1 October: 6 p.m.). Meeting point is the north portal.
festivals
Ascension. During the week around Ascension Day there
is a kind of fair on the hill of Park Alameda with many rides especially
for children and a big Ferris wheel on the hill which then towers over
the city.
The name is made up of Santiago, which represents an abraded form of
the Latin Sanctus Iacobus (German holy Jacob) via the intermediate form
San-Yago, and Compostela. The second part of the name is interpreted
differently. In terms of folk etymology and because of the mention of a
light phenomenon in connection with Jacob's grave, the Latin campus
stellae ("field of stars") is often assumed (see city coat of arms: star
and reliquary). In general, today it is assumed that a cemetery - the
Romans buried their dead at paths and crossings - on a street gave its
name and is explained with the Latin compostum ("cemetery"). The old
path below the cathedral can be visited in the Cathedral Museum.
However, because this explanation cannot ultimately be proven either,
there are further attempts at interpretation in the specialist
literature (including Legler) that include the pre-Christian sanctuary
mentioned in the translation.
James the Greater was one of the twelve apostles, son of Zebedee and
brother of John. According to legend, right after the Ascension of
Christ he went to the Roman province of Hispania, today's Spain, to
evangelize there, but with little success. He then returned to Palestine
and was eventually beheaded there in 44 by order of King Herod Agrippa I
of Judea. According to a legend circulating in Spain since the Middle
Ages, his body was placed in a boat, which was then driven to the coast
of Spain. According to another version, his disciples Athanasius and
Theodorus brought the body by sea to his missionary territory of Spain
and buried it in a stone tomb in the area of today's city of Santiago de
Compostela. According to another legend spread in church circles,
Emperor Justinian gave the bones to the Sinai monastery; in the storms
of Islam, monks brought the relics to safety in Spain. When the Muslims
also conquered Spain, the relics were buried where Santiago de
Compostela is today. Excavations show that there was a necropolis there,
which had belonged to a Roman military camp from the 1st to 4th
centuries and a Suebian settlement from the 5th to 7th centuries.
In the period from 818 to 834 (the often mentioned year 813 is not
correct) the alleged tomb was discovered. According to legend, the
hermit Pelayo saw a light that indicated the tomb of an apostle. This
was reported to Theodemir, the bishop of Iria Flavia. When a tomb was
actually found, Theodemir declared that it was the tomb of Saint James.
Then King Alfonso II of Asturias (791-842) had a church built there,
which developed into a pilgrimage center. A village grew up around the
church, which became the city of Santiago in the 10th century.
The single-nave church soon became too small. So was 872 under King
Alfonso III. started with a larger three-aisled building. On August 10,
997, Almansor, the great general of the Caliph of Cordoba, destroyed the
city and the cathedral. (James' tomb was not damaged, however.) The
cathedral's bells were carried by enslaved Christians to Córdoba, 1,000
kilometers away. (After the conquest of Córdoba on June 29, 1236 by
Castilian troops, they were brought back to Santiago by Moorish slaves.)
Only under Alfonso VI. the church was rebuilt. According to various
sources, the work began either in 1075 or 1078. Around this time,
Santiago de Compostela became the most important place of pilgrimage in
Christianity alongside Rome and Jerusalem.
In 1985, Santiago de
Compostela was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The Camino de
Santiago (Way of St. James) became the first European cultural route in
1987, and in 1989 the IV World Youth Day took place in Santiago de
Compostela.
In 2000, Santiago de Compostela was the European
Capital of Culture.