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The Santiago De Compostela Pilgrim Routes
 Since the discovery of the supposed tomb
of Saint James Major in the 9th century,
the Santiago routes have played a
vital role in the development of European
culture. For pilgrims travelling to Rome,
Jerusalem or to Galicia, the symbolic
significance of the goal to be reached was
the principle consideration.
Dates and countries
Incorporated into the programme
"The Council of Europe Cultural
Routes": 1987
Countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland
Presentation
 Pilgrims really did gain an incomparable
cultural experience. They could discover
various new customs, languages and ways of life and return
home with a breadth of knowledge rare at a time when
long-distance travel exposed the traveller to considerable
danger. Pilgrimage as an anthropological structure gave rise
to a rich material heritage in the form of places of workshop,
hospitals, accommodation facilities, bridges, etc., and
an intellectual heritage of myths, legends and songs. For
today's pilgrims, the journey, the track of events and the
encounters are as enriching as the aim of the trip itself.
What was, for centuries, a religious phenomenon based
on expression of the Christian faith took on an additional
dimension with the Council of Europe’s Declaration
of 1987 and the adoption of a common European graphic
identification system. By providing people of varied
backgrounds, believers and non-believers, Christians
and non-Christians with an opportunity to gather together,
the Santiago Routes serve both as a symbol, reflecting over
one thousand years of European history, and as a model
of cultural co-operation for Europe as a whole.
(Photo: Santiago de Compostela cathedral, Spain, Galicia)
More information
E-mail:
chemins.de.compostelle@wanadoo.fr
Website: www.chemins-compostelle.com
Website: www.compostelle-france.fr/spip
Website: www.xacobeo.es
Website:
www.mcu.es/cooperacion/MC/ConsJacobeo/Index.html
Powerpoint presentation of the "Association des Amis de Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle"
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