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| Santiago de Compostela | |||
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  Santiago de Compostela
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| Coordinates: 42°52′50″N 8°32′47″W / 42.880447°N 8.546303°W | |||
| Country |  Spain |
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| Autonomous Community |  Galicia |
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| Province | A Coruña | ||
| Comarca | Santiago | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Concello | ||
| - Mayor | Xosé Antonio Sánchez Bugallo (PSOE) | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 220 km2 (84.9 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 260 m (853 ft) | ||
| Population (2008)INE | |||
| - Total | 94,339 | ||
| - Density | 428.81/km2 (1,110.6/sq mi) | ||
| - Demonym | santiagués (m), santiaguesa (f) compostelano (m), compostelana (f) pichelero (m), pichelera (f) |
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| Time zone | CET (GMT +1) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | CEST (GMT +2) (UTC) | ||
| Postcode | 15700 | ||
| Area code(s) | +34 | ||
| Twin Cities | |||
| - Santiago do Cacém | Portugal | ||
| - Mashad | Iran | ||
| - Buenos Aires | Argentina | ||
| - Qom | Iran | ||
| - Santiago de Querétaro | Mexico | ||
| - Santiago de los Caballeros | Dominican Republic | ||
| - Assisi | Italy | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ES-C | ||
| Website | http://www.santiagodecompostela.org | ||
Santiago de Compostela (also Saint James of Compostela) is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the north west of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, it was a "European City of Culture" for the year 1998. The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James (Galician: Camiño de Santiago, Spanish: Camino de Santiago). The Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela hosted one of the Catholic World Youth Day gatherings.
Folk etymology for the name "Compostela" is that it comes from the Latin "Campus Stellae" (i.e., Field of Stars), but it is unlikely such a phonetic evolution takes account of normal evolution from Latin to Galician-Portuguese. A more probable etymology relates the word with Latin "compositum", and local Vulgar Latin "Composita Tella", meaning "burial ground" as a euphemism. Many other places through Galicia share this toponym (with identical sense) and there even exists a "Compostilla" in the León province.
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Santiago de Compostela is served by an airport[1] and rail service. There are also plans to provide access to Santiago de Compostela by the Spanish High Speed Railway Network, a project under construction.
The cathedral borders the main plaza of the old and well-preserved city. Legend has it that the remains of the apostle James were brought to Galicia and in the early 9th century on a boat made of stone, and were later discovered at Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral was built in his honour on the spot where his remains were said to have been found. Across the square is the Pazo de Raxoi (Raxoi's Palace), the town hall and seat of the Galician Xunta, and on the right from the cathedral steps is the Hostal dos Reis Católicos, founded in 1492 by the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand II of Aragon, as a pilgrim's hospice (now a parador). The Obradoiro façade of the cathedral, the best known, is depicted on the Spanish euro coins of 1 cent, 2 cents, and 5 cents (€0.01, €0.02, and €0.05).
Santiago is the site of the University of Santiago de Compostela, established in the early 16th century. The main campus can be seen best from an alcove in the large municipal park in the centre of the city.
Within the old town there are many narrow winding streets full of historic buildings. The new town all around it has less character though some of the older parts of the new town have some big apartments in them.
Santiago de Compostela has a substantial nightlife. Divided between the new town (la zona nueva or ensanche) and the old town (la zona vieja or a zona vella), a mix of middle-aged residents and younger students running throughout the city until the early hours of the morning can often be found. Radiating from the center of the city, the historic cathedral is surrounded by paved granite streets, tucked away in the old town, and separated from the newer part of the city by the largest of many parks throughout the city, Parque da Alameda. Whether in the old town or the new town, party-goers will often find themselves following their tapas by dancing the night away.
Santiago gives its name to one of the four military orders of Spain: Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantara and Montesa.
The prevailing wind from the Atlantic and the surrounding mountains combine to give Santiago some of Europe's highest rainfall: about 1,900 mm (75 inches) annually.
One of the most important economic centers in Galicia, Santiago is the seat for organizations like Association for Equal and Fair Trade Pangaea.
| Santiago de Compostela (Old Town)* | |
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
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| State Party | Spain |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | i, ii, vi |
| Reference | 347 |
| Region** | Continental Europe |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1985 (9th Session) |
| * Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO. |
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| 1900 | 1930 | 1950 | 1981 | 2004 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24,120 | 38,270 | 55,553 | 82,404 | 92,298 | 93,458 |
| A Coruña Province Population c. 1787 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | population | ||
| City of Coruña | 13,575 | ||
| City of Ferrol (Civilian Pop. Only) | 24,993 | ||
| Santiago de Compostela | 15,584 | ||
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets | c.229,123 | ||
| All the Province (Total): | 283,275 | ||
| (Ferrol - Urban History, 2004) [1] | |||
| A Coruña Province Population c. 1833 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | population | ||
| City of Coruña | 23,000 | ||
| City of Ferrol (Civilian Pop. Only) | 13,000 | ||
| Santiago de Compostela | 28,000 | ||
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets | c.233,000 | ||
| All the Province (Total): | c.297,000 | ||
| (U. P. Gazetteer By Th.Baldwin, 1847) [2] | |||
| A Coruña Province Population c. 1900 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| District | population | ||
| City of Coruña | 43,971 | ||
| City of Ferrol (Civilian Pop. Only) | 25,281 | ||
| Santiago de Compostela | 24,120 | ||
| Towns, Villages and Hamlets | 580,184 | ||
| All the Province (Total): | 653,556 | ||
| (Encyclopædia Britannica, 1911) [3] | |||
Santiago de Compostela was originally founded by the Suebi in the early 400s, as part of the collapse of the Roman Empire. Then, in 584 the whole settlement together with the rest of Galicia and northern Portugal was incorporated by Leovigild into the Visigothic kingdom of Spain. Raided from 711 to 739 by the Arabs, Santiago de Compostela was finally recaptured by the Visigothic king of Asturias in 754, about 60 years before the identification of remains as those of Saint James the Great, and their acceptance as such by the Pope and Charlemagne, during the reign of Alfonso II of Asturias. From then on, this settlement was not just a city, but a holy city, and one of the main centers of Christian pilgrimage, rivaled only by Rome itself and the Holy Land. Still, there are some who claim that the remains found here were not those of the apostle James but those of Priscillian. They are also thought by many to be someone else altogether. Christian persecution of Spain's Muslims, following the fall of the Moorish state in 1492, echoes into present time, with local residents evincing antipathy towards those who are visibly Muslim.
Santiago de Compostela was captured by the French during the Napoleonic War and its capture broke the spirits of the many Spanish guerillas who were fighting the mighty invading armies of Marshals Soult, Victor, Massena and Napoleon's brother, the new King of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte. During the war, many attempts were made to recapture it by Spanish partisans, who believed St James would come down on the field and destroy the French if they earned his favour by beating the French out of the holy city, which was St James's city. Many of the attempts to return the holy city to the Spanish failed, and the only one that didn't fail was unsuccessful in retaining its hold on the city, and the combined British and Spanish forces were beaten back, where they retreated with the British, and the city was back in French hands within 48 hours.
The legend that St James found his way to the Iberian peninsula, and had preached there is one of a number of early traditions concerning the missionary activities and final resting places of the apostles of Jesus. Although the 1884 Bull of Pope Leo XIII Omnipotens Deus accepted the authenticity of the relics at Compostela, the Vatican remains uncommitted as to whether the relics are those of Saint James the Great, while continuing to promote the more general benefits of pilgrimage to the site. According to a tradition that can be traced before the 12th century, the relics were said to have been discovered in 814 by Theodomir, bishop of Iria Flavia in the west of Galicia. Theodomir was guided to the spot by a star, the legend affirmed, drawing upon a familiar myth-element, hence "Compostela" was given an etymology as a corruption of Campus Stellae, "Field of Stars."
As suggested already, it is probably impossible to know whose bones were actually found, and precisely when and how. Perhaps it does not matter. What the history of the pilgrimage requires, but what the meagre sources fail to reveal, is how the local Galician cult associated with the saint was transformed into an international cult drawing pilgrims from distant parts of the world.
The 1000 year old pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is known in English as the Way of St. James and in Spanish as the Camino de Santiago. Over 100,000 pilgrims travel to the city each year from points all over Europe and other parts of the world. The pilgrimage has been the subject of many books and television programmes notably Brian Sewell's The Naked Pilgrim produced for UK's Five.
As the lowest-lying land on that stretch of coast, the city's site took on added significance. Legends supposed of Celtic origin made it the place where the souls of the dead gathered to follow the Sun across the sea. Those unworthy of going to the Land of the Dead haunted Galicia as the Santa Compaña.
In Fulcanelli's Mystery of the Cathedrals and Dwellings of the Philosophers the pilgrimage to Compostela is decoded as a metaphor for one of the processes for making the Philosopher's Stone.
Santiago de Compostela is twinned with:
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Saunders, Tracy, Pilgrimage to Heresy: Don't Believe Everything They Tell You (iUniverse 2007), for a somewhat different slant on the occupant of the tomb in Compostela. Though a fictionalised history, it looks at what we know of Bishop Priscillian of Avila, arrested on charges of "heresy and witchcraft" along with eight of his followers, including a noblewoman, Euchrotia, and subsequently beheaded in 385 CE by the Romans with the full knowledge of the newly formed Catholic Church, and whose remains have been suggested (by Prof. Henry Chadwick and others)may be entombed in the sepulchre which is said to contain the remains of St. James. See also: Priscillian, and Priscillianism, and The Way of St. James
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Santiago de Compostela is the capital city of Galicia, Spain, and one fo the most important places for Catholicism because it's supposedly the place where St. James is buried.
Santiago de Compostela was originally founded by the Suebi in the early 400s, as part of the collapse of the Roman Empire. In 584 the whole settlement together with the rest of Galicia and northern Portugal was incorporated by Leovigild into the Visigothic kingdom of Spain. Raided from 711 to 739 by the Arabs, Santiago de Compostela was finally conquered by the Visigothic king of Asturias in 754, about 60 years before the identification of remains as those of Saint James the Great, and their acceptance as such by the Pope and Charlemagne, during the reign of Alfonso II of Asturias. Certainly, the remains were found in the small and close town of Iria Flavia, but they were moved to Santiago according to political and religious reasons. From then on, this settlement was not just a city, but a holy city, and one of the main centers of Christian pilgrimage. Still, there are some who claim that the remains found here were not those of the apostle James and one of the most famous theories is that these are the remains of Priscillian. They are also thought by many to be someone else altogether.
Santiago de Compostela was captured by the French during the Napoleonic War and its capture broke the spirits of the many Spanish guerillas who were fighting the mighty invading armies of Marshals' Soult, Victor, Massena and Napoleon's brother, the new King of Spain, Joseph Bonaparte (called Pepe Botella by the Spanish resistance). During the war, many attempts were made to recapture it by Spanish partisans, who believed St James would come down on the field and destroy the French if they earned his favour by beating the French out of the holy city, which was St James's city. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), Santiago was under the control of the fascists since the very begining and it suffered from a very brutal repression during the inmediate years and the whole Dictatorship. After the Spanish Transition, when the democracy was restored, Santiago de Compostela was declared capital city of Galicia.
With a population of about 100.000 inhabitants, it's one of the most important cities of Galicia and the most touristic of them, receiving thousands of visitors every year, many of them attracted to the the ancient history and the religious tradition. It was declared by the UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its cathedral and old city centre.
The University of Santiago de Compostela (USC) is one of the oldest Spanish universities and it has more than 40.000 students, becoming Santiago one of the centers of the university education in Spain, with Salamanca and Granada.
The climate of Santiago is typical of the Spanish Atlantic coast: wet winters with frequent rains which, in light or heavy bursts, lasts from September to June. The summers are slightly less rainy than the rest of the Cantabrian coast.
Temperatures remain mild throughtout the whole year with a yearly average of 19ºC. They drop down to about 8ºC in January, the coldest month of the year.
The traditional way of getting to Santiago de Compostela is by walking about 780 km from St. Jean Pied-de-Port in France, on the Way of St. James. It is just as traditional to arrive on horseback, though considerably more difficult in terms of facilities. You may be able to stable your horse with a local farmer, but virtually no hostels provide this service. Cycling is also popular.
Other way of getting to Santiago is by bus. The bus station is located in the outskirts of the city, but there you can get a public bus or a taxi to get to the city centre. You can get to Santiago by bus from several places:
If you want to arrive to Santiago by train, you should visit the RENFE webpage [4]. The train station is relatively close to the city centre.
By air, the closest airport is Lavacolla [5] (ICAO: LEST, IATA: SCQ), about twenty minutes by bus from the city centre. The following companies operate currently at this airport:
Santiago is a relatively small city (about 100.000 inhabitants) and you can get anywhere by walking.
Although this, there are several bus lines that connect every part of the city. These services are offered by the company Tralusa. The ticket costs 0,90 € for adults (for people under 18 it costs 0,55 €). If you are going to take several times the bus, you may buy a bono of 10, 20 or 30 tickets with a price of 0,55 € for each one. You can buy these bonos to the bus drivers and you must pay a deposit of 3 € that will be payed back to you if you return the card in good condition. The most interesting line for visitors is the number 5, that stops at the bus station and goes to the city centre.
Taxis are not very expensive and the taxi drivers are usually kind and willing to help tourists.
In the parts of the city most frequented by tourists, it's easy to find someone that speaks English or even French, Italian or German. Some restaurants even have English menu. It's more difficult, but not impossible to find menus and signs in Japonese and Chinese. Due to the high number of students in Santiago, it's not difficult to find someone with a good level of English in the streets that will be willing to help.
The official languages of the city are Galician and Spanish. Galician is language with great similarities with Portuguese, so speakers of this language will not have troubles to understand people.
Praza do Obradoiro is the heart of the city, and it's named after the workshop of the stonemasons that was established during the construction of the Cathedral (Obradoiro is the Galician word for wordkshop). This is the arrival point of thousands of pilgrims every day and just in the center of this square it's located the kilometer 0 of the Way of St. JamesThe surrounding buildings are examples of different architectural styles. At the East, the barroque front of the Cathedral with the Museum at its right and the Gelmírez Palace at its left. At the West, the Rajoy Palace, that it's the current city hall. At the North, the Catholic Kings Hostal, a plateresque building destinated to host the pilgrims. At the south, the San Jerónimo College, an old students residence and now the head office of the University of Santiago de Compostela.
This Cathedral has so many examples of different architectural styles that it would be impossible to reflect hear everything. Maybe the most important are the Baroque front of the Praza do Obradoiro and the interior porch, Pórtico da Gloria. For a better idea of what this Cathedral means for the art and the Catholic religion, visit this link of the Wikipedia [6].
The tomb of Santiago ("Saint James") is located under the Cathedral, and there's the possibility to visit its tomb and even hug the sculpture that represents the saint. On regular occasions the church shows its "Botafumeiro", a huge solid silver incense burner which is swung from the ceiling of the church by a team of energetic men ("tiraboleiros") hauling on ropes.
Originally it was a hospital built after the visit of the catholic Kings to Santiago in 1486, to attend the pilgrims. With the years, the Catholic Kings ordered the built of a big hostel with the money they had earned with the conquest of Granada. Its style is Plateresque. At its front, two coats of arms of Castilla can be seen.
Building of the XVIII century, it was built to host the city council, a jail, a seminary and the residence for the children of the choir. It was built under the classic canons. At the top, there's a sculpture of St. James riding his horse and fighting with the Arabs.
It was founded by the archbishop Alonso III de Fonseca to host poor students. Its front has a Romanesque style.
Built in the XII and XIII centuries, it's the current home of the archbishop of Santiago. It's a great example of the Romanesque civil architecture.
This is the square situated at the other side of the Cathedral. It's divided in two, Quintana dos Mortos, just until the staircase and Quintana dos Vivos, the upper side. In the past it served as cementery and market. There's a legend that tells that if you're at this square alone at midnight, you will be able to see all the deads there buried.
Close to the Quintana, it has a well-known fountain and it offers one of the best sights of the Cathedral.
Benedictine monastery of the XI century. The current building is baroque. It's one of the most emblematic buildings of all the city. It's situated in the Praza da Inmaculada.
Situated at the Quintana dos Vivos, this building has the typical chimney of the XVIII century.
The second most visited monument. This market is the typical Galician market and one of the biggest all over Spain. It's the perfect place to buy some fresh seafood, vegetables and meat.
The city has also several museums that are worth the visit. Some of them are:
The town is now a very important center for pilgrims. You can find all sorts of souvenirs related to "the camino": walking sticks, the typical water-bottles, and the shells that are typical for the camino. Also you can buy typical sweets and drinks in many shops at the Zona Vella (Old District). If you want to buy an original gift, visit the Sargadelos [10] shop at Rúa Nova and see the modernist ceramics of this old and legendary factory in the province of Lugo. Also in the Old District you can find many jewellery shops where to buy typical jewels made of silver and jet, many of them of celtic inspiration.
If you want to buy clothes, move to the Zona Nova (New District) and visit the stores that are all over these district. Here you can find Zara, Bershka, Pepe Jeans... and other famous brands. Maybe the most original brand you could find is Rei Zentolo at Rúa Santiago de Chile, a Galician brand with original and really funny T-shirts and other clothes.
There are two shopping centers in the city. The first one, Área Central, is located at the district of Fontiñas (you can get there by taking the bus number 11 in the City Centre) and it has fashion shops, fast food restaurants and one big supermarket. The other one, Hipercor, at Rúa do Restollal, is a typical department store.
Galicia is known for "Pulpo" or cooked octopus. In general there are a lot of restaurants selling fish and seafood suitable for all budgets. The local cheeses should also be sampled, as well as delicious cakes like the "Tarta de Santiago". Expect long queues at popular pilgrim eating places. Also try pimientos de padrón. The saying goes, "los pimientos de padrón, unos pican y otros no" meaning that in a single serving, some are spicy while others are not.
Try the Albariño wine, a white wine from the south of Galicia. Other popular drinks are:
For a quiet beer and a couple of tapas on the Old District there are several places where you can sit in terraces when the weather is nice or inside where it's rainy or cold. Some of these places are for example, Tokio or Alameda at Porta Faxeira or the terraces at the Quintana Square. It's specially well-known the Rúa do Franco, one of the main streets, full of places where you can drink and eat something. One really famous is Bar Orense (Rúa do Franco), where you can have cuncas (cups) of wine and licor café for a very low price. If you like coffees, ice-creams and pastries, try Pastelería Mercedes Mora (Rúa do Vilar). On the New District there are bars full of university students, such as Central Perk (Rúa Nova de Abaixo), Luis (Rúa Santiago del Estero) or the multiple terraces at Praza Roxa.
Later in the evening, there are several places to go because Santiago de Compostela is a city with a very interesting nightlife.
If you want some beers or cocktails to begin the night, try Nido del Cuco or Momo, both at Virxe da Cerca. The last one, Momo, during the summer season has a big and nice garden and during the winter it has perfomances of singer-songwriters. Other interesting places are Casa das Crechas (Vía Sacra, very close to Praza da Quintana), where you can hear some folk music, A Calderería (Rúa da Calderería), spot where many foreigners get together and sometimes there are music performances or Modus Vivendi (Praza Feixoó).
To continue the night, Santiago has many pubs where drink and dance different kinds of music. The following ones are only examples of the great variety you can find in Santiago. On the Old District:
Going to the New District:
Just outside of Santiago is a small town called "Monte do Gozo".
Some Pilgrims stop there before entering the city. It's a huge
center and has almost 2000 beds. There is a frequent bus line that
will take you to walking distance of the town center.
People with a bigger budget can stay in the luxury "Hotel Dos Reis
Católicos", the former medieval pilgrim hostel, situated on the
same square, O Obradoiro, as the cathedral. It is owned by the
Paradores group, a large hotel-chain which operates hotels
exclusively in historic buildings.
There is a 3 stars hotel near the cathedral, called Hesperia Gelmirez with very good rates.
For the budget traveler you can try Hostal R Mexico located at Republica Argentina 33. It's just a few blocks away from the train station. Another budget option is Hostal Pazo de Agra on Rúa Calderería 37. It is an easy two-minute walk from the cathedral.
70km out of Santiago is the town called Finisterre. Before the Americas were discovered, people believed this was the end of the world (finis = end; terra = earth)
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Category: Outline articles
The city's Cathedral is the destination of an important pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James (Galician: Camiño de Santiago, Spanish: Camino de Santiago). Pilgrims have been following this route since the ninth century.
The cathedral is believed to be where James, son of Zebedee is buried. Saint James was one of the apostles of Jesus Christ.
In Santiago de Compostela there are a lot of university students who live there because their houses are very far to the university. This is the city of the Spain that rains all the winter, and where it is a cold weather.
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   | Official site of the city of Santiago de Compostela - Santiago de Compostela |
| | Walking the Camino de Santiago, A Guide - Camino de Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage - Way of St James |
| | Confraternity of St. James - Home page - The Confraternity of St James |
| | Video of Santiago de Compostela on YouTube - YouTube - Santiago de Compostela |
| | www.backpack45.com/camino2.html - English language based site with planning information for walking the Camino Francès - Backpack45 - Walking the Camino de Santiago (Camino Francés) - what it's like, what you need, book recommendations, Le Puy, Arles info. |
| | Photographs of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral and Monasteries of Galicia - Paul Preece Fotografo A Coruña Galeria de Fotografia España Galicia |
| | Photos of Santiago de Compostella - ESPAGNE | PHOTOS ESPAGNE | PHOTO ESPAGNE - Saint-Jacques de Compostelle |
| | Pilgrim forum on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela - Pilgrim forum - Camino de Santiago de Compostela forum |
| | A 20 page mini guide about the buildings and attractions of this fantastic city - GALICIA GUIDE | Santiago de Compostela | Spain |
| | www.pilgrimage-to-santiago.com - Camino de Santiago de Compostela Pilgrimage, Way of St James |
| | Over 1600 high res photographs of the Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela - elcaminosantiago's photos and albums on webshots |
| | Pilgrim Wiki on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela - Main Page - Camino de Santiago Wiki |
| | Canadian Company of Pilgrims - Canadian Company of Pilgrims |
| | Saint James's Way - Saint James' Way (Camino de Santiago) - Entrance of the Pilgrim World |
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