The first European Cultural Route: The Way of St. James (El Camino de Santiago), by Alba Rama Carneiro.

                    THE FIRST EUROPEAN CULTURAL ROUTE: THE WAY OF ST. JAMES
                                                       EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO

     The Camino de Santiago, or Way of St. James, is a route used by pilgrims from around the world to reach the city of Santiago de Compostela, where the relics of St.James the Great are venerated. After the Council of Europe’s Declaration of the Way as the first European Cultural Route in 1987 and the adoption of a common European graphic identification system to guide the pilgrims from any nationality or religion, the route has continued to grow, until The French Route (one amongst several routes) was eventually declared a UNESCO World Heritage Route in 1993.

 In the 9th century, about 820-835 A.D., the remains of St. James were found in Santiago and that meant the beginning of the city we know today. Alfonso II, King of Asturias decided to build a church and give it special privileges in order to avoid problems. It was built on the site and a village started to grow around.  From the fifteenth century, this church became one of the main pilgrimage centres of Christianity and gave rise to the current Camino de Santiago. For centuries the scallop, which is typically found in the sea coast in Galicia ,has been the symbol of the Camino de Santiago and its pilgrims. Formerly, the pilgrims used to wear the shell of a scallop on their habit or hat when they returned to their  countries of origin. This way, they proved that they had reached Santiago, or in other words, that they had had a safe journey. According to tradition, the remains of St.James are buried in the Cathedral today.


                                                     

After the Middle Ages and for many centuries, the Way was losing importance, to the point that the last of the historic lodges, where the pilgrims used to spend the night, were closed and abandoned in ruins by the middle of the twentieth century. During the Holy Year in 1993, the Galician Autonomous Government decided to boost its touristic appeal focused on its historical and cultural value. Today thousands of pilgrims follow these routes (there are several) for many different reasons and it has become a touristic attraction someway.

                                       
   
Although there are many ways to reach Compostela, the most well-known is the French Route which starts at Saint Jean Pied-de-Port (France) and finishes at Santiago de Compostela. It covers a distance of 781 kilometres. There are several rules which must be followed along the way in order to get the ‘compostela’ when a pilgrim gets to Santiago. The ‘compostela’ is a document which proves that the holder has completed at least a distance of 100 kilometres on foot, or 200 kms. by bicycle or on a horse to reach Compostela.

                                                        

     If a pilgrim completes the route in a Holy Year all sins are forgiven.
     At the beginning of the trip, the pilgrim must purchase a document called the credencial from a Spanish tourist agency, a church or parish house on the route, a refugio, their church back home, or outside of Spain through the national St. James organization of that country. This is like ‘a passport’ for the trip. It must be stamped with the official St. James stamp at each place the pilgrim has stayed overnight and it will prove the completion of the way to the Pilgrim’s Office in Santiago. It also gives access to cheap (sometimes free) accommodation at pilgrims hostels along the trail.

   
     Some celebrities have also completed at least a part of this beautiful cultural route. We have seen recently both the presidents of Germany (Angela Merkel) and of Spain (Mariano Rajoy) doing a little part of the route.

Fonts:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago
http://s18.postimage.org/ehr4xdqnd/logo_pelgrimsroute_1.jpg (blue and ywllow image)
http://www.santiagocastrourdiales.net/portal/RecursosWeb/IMAGENES/6/0_4149_1.jpg (arrow)
https://t2.ftcdn.net/jpg/00/23/72/43/500_F_23724393_LN17tCnb3j9VQAtklNZLuxdiNDwqpm41.jpg (all symbols)
http://www.skikamel.com/sportour/images/camino_santiago_foto1.jpg (images)
https://peregrinosencamino.wordpress.com/files/2009/04/camino_de_santiago_catedral_santiago.jpg
http://caminosantiagoandalucia.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/la-compostela.jpg (the compostela)