hidden europe 2

Pilgrim paths to Santiago

by hidden europe

Summary

some lesser known pilgrim routes to Santiago de Compostella - and the path to Finisterre

Whatever the disputed origins of the cult of St James of Compostela, by the middle of the twelfth century, in part because of the entrepreneurial promotion of Santiago by the local bishop, Diego Gelmírez, the cathedral city had established itself as a pilgrim destination - the equal of Rome and Jerusalem. There were trails from all over Europe that led to Santiago. One of the longest was that from the ecclesiastical centre of Lublin in Poland that headed west via Görlitz, a splendid town that features elsewhere in this issue of hidden europe, to Nürnberg and Geneva, eventually to reach the Pyrenees and join the Camino Francés.

One road to Santiago that has been almost entirely forgotten is the Camino Inglés (the English route).

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