Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of Galicia and the end of the Way of St. James pilgrimage route.

There is a very nice Parador in the center of town.

The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral houses the tomb of the apostle James.

Saint James the Great is said to have brought Christianity to Spain.

His burial place in Galicia was allegedly rediscovered by Pelagius the Hermit in 814.

King Alfonso II of Asturias and Galicia conducted a pilgrimage to the site and ordered the construction of a chapel there.

The King of Leon built a larger church at the site, but it was destroyed in the 10th century by Al-Andalus.

The bells at the old church in Santiago de Compostela were added to the Aljama Mosque in Cordoba, then later used in the Cathedral of Saint Mary of Toledo when Cordoba was captured by Christians during the Reconquista.

Construction on the cathedral that stands today started in 1075 by order of the King of Castile.

After the Reconquista was complete, Pope Alexander VI declared the Way of Saint James one of the three official pilgrimage routes of Christendom.

An offering from 1704

A banner from the Battle of Lepanto.

These people are celebrating finishing their pilgrimages. Fireworks could be heard going off around the city throughout the day.

My favorite motif of Saint James is Saint James Matamoros. He supposedly appeared at the Battle of Clavijo, a battle that (probably didn't) take place in the 9th century, and helped the Christians beat the Moors.

A lion head from the 13th century

It is estimated over 200,000 pilgrims hike the Way of Saint James each year.

Death by giant sword

From what we could tell on our trip, the Way of Saint James is still very popular. It made our ticket to Santiago de Compostela cheap because most people fly out from there, but few fly in. And of course, there are a lot of St. James souvenirs along the route.