Thereafter, we motored towards Santiago de Compostela, considered to be the holiest city in Spain that is tucked away in Galicia, northwestern Spain. Santiago's name and fame both derive from Saint James, the Apostle (Sant Iago), whose holy relics are believed to be enshrined under the cathedral's altar. Legend has it that James preached in Spain before being martyred in Jerusalem and his body was brought back to Spain after his death. The tomb of St. James was discovered here in 819 AD and a small church was soon built over the shrine by the king.
Santiago is certainly one of Spain's most monumental towns, with a particular architectonical style all of its own. But it is as well a town plenty of life, with the University of Santiago de Compostela and a large number of students who guarantee youthful ambience in between the historical walls. In addition, the region's cuisine is of great reputation where it is said that nowhere can you eat better seafood than in Galicia. Most typical is fish, which exists here in extraordinary quality. So this is a place with a really varied offer, and one of the great cultural centers of the continent.
Over the last century, newer pilgrimage sites like Fatima and Lourdes have surpassed Santiago in popularity, but many devout Catholics still make the trek to pay their respects to St. James. In addition, Santiago's magnificent cathedral, medieval buildings, and charming streets draw thousands of tourists each year.
The present Santiago Cathedral, an impressive Romanesque structure with a Baroque facade, was begun in 1078 after the previous church was destroyed by Moorish invaders. A thriving town soon developed around the cathedral and Santiago became a major pilgrimage destination, surpassed only by Jerusalem and Rome. Devout pilgrims traveled long distances along the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James), a series of pilgrimage roads starting from France, Portugal or several points in Spain, and now considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, to pray at the tomb of St. James and gain religious merit.
Why this great interest in Santiago de Compostela, one might ask. Why walk the distance? Why dismiss worries about the difficulties one might encounter on the journey? Why do so many people aged 60+ make this journey? Why? There is no simple answer. There are many reasons and combination of reasons that one might be motivated to make this journey – religion, spirituality, culture, sport, adventure, to name a few. While paying homage to St. James may seem old fashioned, spiritual reasons do rate high. If you want to contemplate the meaning of life, 100 days give one plenty of thinking time! In Holland, walking to Santiago de Compostela is the thing to do. The walk contributes to improving one’s outlook on life, brings one in closer contact with the beauty of nature and expands one’s cultural horizons through contact with other pilgrims. Everyone experiences this journey differently and in a unique personal way. It takes an enormous amount of energy, but then you receive much more energy by doing it. Whatever the pilgrims may think of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela once they arrive, it is for certain that the journey itself will be their most profound and memorable experience.
Nevertheless, the old city of Santiago de Compostela and its grand cathedral are among the most beautiful medieval artifacts in all of Europe. Other than the visual beauty of the place, the atmosphere is charged with devotion and holiness. The institution of the Church may have resorted to some unscrupulous tactics in advertising the site, yet the many millions of pilgrims who visited the shrine came with love and sincerity in their hearts. The presence of that love is still strongly felt at Santiago.
Anyhow, upon entering the basilica, I was in total awe. Because as soon you enter, you can almost reach right into one of the columns and feel the hollowed-out impression of a handprint worn into the stone by thousands of other travelers before you. If stones could talk, I could just imagine the stories that this 11th-century medieval cathedral could tell. For nearly a thousand years, millions of pilgrims have been arriving, probably even just to see a truly remarkable work of Romanesque architecture, and it would certainly be worth it given the unparalleled and often surreal carvings. These pilgrims' personal journeys have literally left a mark on this ancient building.
Our tour guide immediately took us to the main altar wherein stands a bejeweled medieval statue of the saint which pilgrims greet with a hug upon arrival at the shrine. I cannot speak for the rest of the group, but after the hug, I felt like I was coming home. So surreal, indeed.
We then proceeded to the crypt, located just below the main altar, which shows the substructure of the 9th-century church. The crypt houses the relics of Saint James and two of his disciples - Saint Theodorus and Saint Athanasius.
Continuing with the tour of Santiago outside the cathedral, the guide directed us to Plaza de Obradoiro which is the heart of the city, and named after the workshop of the stonemasons that was established during the construction of the Cathedral. This is the arrival point of thousands of pilgrims every day and in the center of this square is located the kilometer “0” of the Way of St. James.
The surrounding buildings are examples of different architectural styles. At the East is the baroque front of the Cathedral with the Museum at its right and the GelmÃrez Palace at its left. At the West and directly facing the cathedral is the Rajoy Palace. This building equals the span of Santiago's cathedral and has a multi-arched colonnade that runs the length of the palace's frontal facade. In the past, this building acted as home to the cathedral employees and priests as well as being the town hall and even the local prison. Today, it is the centre of the Galician parliament but still retains its town hall status. At the North is the Catholic Kings Hostal (yes, it is spelled “hostal”), a luxury hotel which was formerly a medieval pilgrim hostel. At the south is the San Jerónimo College, an old students’ residence and now the head office of the University of Santiago de Compostela.
I noticed that Santiago de Compostela is composed of an irregular network of streets which opens onto squares, creating unexpected perspective views. The work of the 16th century, which involved the conservation of the monuments and urban fabric, is evident to this day.
Panorama of plaza and facade at sunset
After the walking tour, we checked in into our hotel, Hotel Hesperia Gelmirez, had buffet dinner, and then went back to check out the city square at night. The cool breeze at night was so refreshing! After a good walk, we went back to the hotel and called it a night.
To Be Continued.....
To Be Continued.....
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