Route of Santiago de Compostela - Spain
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tmob
N 42° 20.461 W 003° 42.289
30T E 441941 N 4687879
O Camiño de Santiago, or the Way of St. James is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.
Waymark Code: WMDJQ5
Location: Castilla y León, Spain
Date Posted: 01/21/2012
Views: 17
«The Way of St. James has existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned; other major pilgrimage routes include the Via Francigena to Rome and the pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
Legend holds that St. James's remains were carried by boat from Jerusalem to northern Spain where he was buried on the site of what is now the city of Santiago de Compostela.
The Way can take one of any number of pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. Traditionally, as with most pilgrimages, the Way of Saint James began at one's home and ended at the pilgrimage site. However a few of the routes are considered main ones. During the Middle Ages, the route was highly traveled. However, the Black Death, the Protestant Reformation and political unrest in 16th-century Europe led to its decline. By the 1980s, only a few pilgrims arrived in Santiago annually. Since then however the route has attracted a growing number of modern-day pilgrims from around the globe.
The route was declared the first European Cultural Route by the Council of Europe in October 1987; it was also named one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.»
-- Source
-- More info in UNESCO WHC
Coordinates are from a UNESCO historical marker, located near Burgos Cathedral, an important location where the route passes, with the following inscription:
"EL COMITÉ DEL PATRIMONIO MUNDIAL DE LA UNESCO INCLUYÓ EL CAMINO DE SANTIAGO EN SU LISTA DEL PATRIMONIO DE LA HUMANIDAD EN 1993"