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Camino de Compostela – Spain
Report by Kirstin Henninger Most routes of the Camino de Santiago have cultural attractions - both secular and religious - including hundreds of churches, monuments, bridges, lookouts and resting places which are often located in areas with scenic vistas and outstanding natural beauty. In recent decades, interest in completing the Camino by foot, bicycle or horseback has grown significantly among travelers of all backgrounds and faiths. There are dozens of websites dedicated to giving personal accounts and advice to fellow pilgrims and travellers, many who express sentiments such as Leslie Gilmour, an Irish pilgrim who says, “I did not set out on a Spiritual or religious journey - but it ended being that way - accident? I don’t know... Maybe that is just the Camino de Santiago at work.”1 HistorySantiago de Compostela has played a fascinating role in Christian, European and world history while remaining a site of significant importance in modern times. “Santiago” derives from Saint James (San Yago) one of Jesus’ apostles who many believe to be buried beneath the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela in the town of Santiago. “Compostela” is derived from the Latin words, “campus stellae,” meaning, “field of the stars,” which refers to the starlit place where the tomb of Saint James was originally discovered in the 9th century A.D.
In the 10th century, the first pilgrims arrived from France. Although the town of Santiago de Compostela was partially destroyed by Muslim troops at the end of the 10th century, the town was reconstructed by the 11th century. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Cathedral became such a magnet of Christian fervour that Pope Alexander III declared Compostela a Holy Town, akin to Rome and Jerusalem. Thus, during Europe’s Middle Ages, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela became one of the main Christian pilgrimages related to the worship of holy relics. At this time, these pilgrimage routes served as places of cultural exchange between the Christian Iberian kingdoms and the rest of Europe. The Camino de Santiago also became a powerful metaphor for the Christian (and, arguably, human) condition, in that the pilgrim’s journey was related to the search for God’s forgiveness for one’s sins and the need for complete reconciliation. The city retained its prestige and role as the most important pilgrimage destination in the Western Christian world until the 17th and 18th centuries, when the number of pilgrims began to decline. The flow of pilgrims on the Camino was at its nadir in the 19th century, when many routes were abandoned, but since the 1950s it has seen a revival in popularity among visitors of all faiths and nationalities.
In 1987, the Council of Europe proclaimed the route of Santiago de Compostela the first European Cultural itinerary, and in 1993 it was the first pathway in the world to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The old town of Santiago, considered to be one of the world’s most beautiful urban areas, was declared a World Heritage Site in 1985, and is known for monuments, courtyards and gardens which blend elements of Romanesque, Baroque, Gothic and Renaissance styles. Situated at 853 feet (260 meters) above sea level with a population of 89,000, the city is also home to the well-respected University of Santiago de Compostela. Threats and Preservation EffortsAs pilgrims tend to be invested in the preservation of the resources along the Camino, there are rare instances of conflicts or disrespect to the natural resources, buildings and cultural sites related to the Camino de Santiago. In 1985, 2,491 pilgrims completed the Camino de Compostela and by 2005 there were 93,921.3 Although the number of pilgrims has increased dramatically over recent years, these people constitute a powerful conservationist force against development projects that threaten or deteriorate the various caminos and the pathway’s historic and natural resources. A British traveler, Austin Rebirth, walked his first Camino on a whim and sums up this sentiment well in his article published in the Globe and Mail:4 “And slowly I began to see like a pilgrim. To see that everywhere I looked, in even the smallest town, there was not just a church, but a cathedral, a beautiful ornate structure that had taken generations to build. A father had laid the foundation, his son and his son’s son had built the walls, and their children had put on the roof. I was struck by the power that emanated from these works of art, shrines built with love and dedication and belief. I learned how to travel light, help other pilgrims and not damage or hurt anything along the way.”
Since the mid 1980’s, restoration efforts related to the Camino de Santiago have paralleled Spain’s decentralization process. Regional governments declared many natural areas along the Camino as protected areas, and there are a growing number of areas that aim to protect or restore places with both cultural heritage and natural values.
In the past 10-12 years, many regional rules have been set to protect portions of the Ways of Saint James and its natural resources. For example, the Law of Protection of the Ways of Saint James of Galicia (1996) was passed to “provide protection for all cultural elements associated to the Ways in this region, as well as trees and other landscape features in an area 60 meters [197 feet] wide along the pathway.”7
Footnotes 1 http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/ 2Mallarach, Josep M. «The Way of Saint James» in Dudley, N., Higgins-Zogib, L. and Mansourian, S. Beyond Belief: Linking faiths and protected areas to support biodiversity conservation, p. 105-108. WWF, Equilibrium and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, U.K. 2005. 3 Figures complements of the Office de Acogida al Peregrino, accessed at http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/ 4 http://webhome.idirect.com/%7Ethepilgrim/shadow.htm 5 Mallarach, Josep-Maria and Soria, Isabel. The Delos Initiative - A project of the IUCN-WCPA (written correspondence). December, 2007. http://www.med-ina.org/delos 6 7 8 Mallarach, Josep M. The Way of Saint James in Dudley, N., Higgins-Zogib, L. and Mansourian, S. (2005), Beyond Belief: Linking faiths and protected areas to support biodiversity conservation, p. 105-108. WWF, Equilibrium and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation, U.K. How You Can HelpThere are currently several private and public organizations that are involved in the study, restoration and protection of the various Ways of Saint James. Since the city and Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela are well preserved and protected, the best way to help these sacred areas is to join organizations that are involved in the conservation and restoration of portions of the Caminos de Compostela. These organizations are in Spain, France and Portugal, where most Ways of Saint James exist. Federación Española de Asociaciones de Amigos del Camino (Spanish). The Federation of Associations of Friends of the Way also lists contacts for the individual associations for each camino. Fundación Arboles para El Camino (Trees for the Way foundation) (English, Spanish, French and German) Resources
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The historic pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain is known as the Camino de Compostela (Way of Saint James) and is the oldest and longest living pilgrimage route in Europe. For over 1000 years, pilgrims have been walking along the “Camino,” which has several different routes departing from different locations in France, Portugal and Spain that culminate at the Cathedral, which is a world renowned masterpiece of Romanesque art. The most important routes cross the Western Pyrenees in two main branches, the Southern Ways and Northern Ways, and can vary from 750 to 2000 km. 
According to Christian beliefs, the Apostle James (Santiago) first went to the region of northwest Spain to preach the gospel and convert people to Christianity. When the Apostle returned to Palestine in 44 A.D., he was tortured to death, yet his body was then stolen by his disciples and brought by boat to Spain’s coast, at Iria Flavia. From there, James’ body was then taken to a wooded burial place close to some Celtic ruins in an area known as Libredon. For the next several centuries, all records of Saint James’ burial place were all but lost. Yet in the year of 812, a shepherd reported seeing a star that pointed out the burial place and Bishop Teodomiro launched an investigation that discovered what were thought to be the Apostle’s remains. King Alfonso II had a chapel built at this place and declared Saint James the patron of his small kingdom, which remained autonomous from the dominant Islamic state of Al-Andalus (Moorish Spain). Several miracles were attributed to Saint James, and the town of Santiago de Compostela grew around the basilica and holy burial site.
Although Santiago de Compostela is known for its role in the Catholic Christian faith, there is evidence that the origins of the site and its pilgrimages are older than Christianity by a few centuries. For example, there are petroglyphs on the stones of the medieval cathedral of Santiago that date back five millennia. Some scholars have argued that the site was already a pilgrimage center during the megalithic civilization, and later in the Celtic epoch (although there were no major structures in this area before the Christian era).
Nevertheless, there are significant impacts to various historical Camino routes caused by poorly planned or executed urban development that leave a large footprint on the landscape, including waste landfills and industrial areas. For example, in the Spanish Autonomous Communities of La Rioja and Castilla-León, there are numerous portions of the Camino that are in poor condition.
Such areas are often protected as ‘Nature Parks’ and ‘Special Plans’ – a flexible legal structure used to restore and protect both natural and cultural values. One such protected area is along the Atlantic coast in Cambria, where there have been five consecutive “Reserves of Biosphere” established over nearby existing protected areas, mostly Nature and National Parks. The parks of Muniellos, Somiedo, Redes, Picos de Europa and Babia make up the “Great Reserve of Biosphere of the Catabric Mountains” – the largest Biosphere Reserve in Spain. This reserve synergizes such protected areas, since it was established as “an instrument to coordinate this area with its cultural and biological values, looking for integrated management that is based on the Way of Saint James, a structural element, linking the Cantabric mountains with Europe”.
In Medieval times, there were ‘secondary pathways’ used in cases of trouble because they avoided the main cities. These pathways are now a special attraction because they go across areas of exceptional natural value. Since these secondary pathways cross several Spanish regions, the regional governments are developing projects to integrate the Camino of Santiago into natural area protection schemes. |
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