Castilla y Leon information
Camino de Santiago
It was registered in 1993 as a World Heritage
Site.
This is the route, from the French-Spanish border, which was and
still is followed by pilgrims travelling to Santiago de Compostela.
Along the route there are around 1800 buildings, both religious
and secular, of great historical value. The Route played a fundamental
role in the cultural exchange between the Iberian Peninsula and
the rest of Europe during the Middle Ages. It is still testimony
to the Christian faith in people of all social classes from all
over Europe.
The network of Jacobean routes which lead to Santiago de Compostela,
confirmed as the Leading European Cultural Itinerary by the Council
of Europe for its dissemination of cultural expression and creating
a common identity among the peoples of the continent, is without
doubt the first great route which takes travellers from all over
the world through Spanish territory. For more than eight centuries,
the cult of the apostle Saint James (Santiago) has resulted in
an endless flow of pilgrims, which becomes more intense in the
years of Jubilee. This is all in addition to the wealth of experiences
provided by a route with great cultural variety in the regions
and areas through which it passes, the hospitality of the people
who live there and the varied corollary of personal impressions
of the countryside.
Source: Web server of Instituto de Turismo de España, TURESPAÑA.