Camino Francés
Pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela: Camino Francés and the routes of Northern Spain | |
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UNESCO world heritage ![]() |
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The scallop shell and the yellow arrow are the typical orientation aids along the way |
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National territory: |
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Type: | Culture |
Criteria : | ii, iv, vi |
Reference No .: | 669 |
UNESCO region : | Europe and North America |
History of enrollment | |
Enrollment: | 1993 (session 17) |
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Eisernes_Kreuz_Cruz_de_Ferro.jpg/170px-Eisernes_Kreuz_Cruz_de_Ferro.jpg)
The Camino Francés ( German : "French Way") is the classic Way of St. James , which leads over a distance of almost 800 kilometers across northern Spain from the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela . In 1993, the way was as UNESCO World Heritage listed.
history
The creation of the Camino Francés , the classic Way of St. James from the Pyrenees to Santiago, dates back to the first half of the 11th century. The Historia Silense reports around 1118 that King Sancho III. Garcés of Navarre (1004-1035) created the conditions for the route between the Pyrenees and Nájera . The first mention of the great northern Spanish travel route which the royal cities Jaca ( Huesca Province ), Pamplona (Navarra), Burgos and Leon joined and went on to Jacob's grave, dating back to 1047: in the charter of the Hospital of Arconada (in Villalcázar de Sirga ) there is already talk of pilgrims to Rome and to Santiago who used the road that passed the hospital.
Since the 11th century, the rulers of all Christian empires in northern Spain tried to attract settlers from France by granting them freedom rights, privileges and tax exemptions in order to equip the Camino Francés with market settlements. The name Camino Francés , first documented in Astorga in the 12th century , refers to these settlers. From around 1050 onwards, hospital foundations by kings, princes, clergymen, monks and knight orders increased. Around 1130, hospitals seem to have existed along the Camino Francés at intervals of about 15 kilometers . From the 14th century, the charitable infrastructure was further consolidated by private or fraternal foundations of smaller hostels.
route
The Camino Francés begins at the Pyrenees passes from Somport ( Aragón ) or from Roncesvalles ( Navarra ), from where two stretches lead to Puente la Reina (Navarra). In the first case, that of the Camino Aragonés , the route leads through Jaca, Sangüesa (Navarre), Monreal (Navarre) and Eunate , in the second case via Pamplona. Both strands unite in Puente la Reina, from where the pilgrims follow the path via Estella (Navarra), Viana , Logroño ( La Rioja ), Nájera, Santo Domingo de la Calzada , Belorado , San Juan de Ortega and Burgos. There is a side route from Bayonne via Tolosa ( Gipuzkoa ), Vitoria-Gasteiz , Miranda de Ebro and Briviesca .
After leaving Burgos, the pilgrims pass Castrojeriz , Frómista , Carrión de los Condes , Sahagún and León. There is also a pilgrimage route in León , which branches off in Oviedo in Asturias from the Camino de la Costa , which also leads to Santiago de Compostela. It continues from León via Puente de Órbigo , Astorga , Ponferrada , Villafranca del Bierzo , O Cebreiro , Sarria , Portomarín , Palas de Rei and Arzúa until the pilgrims reach Santiago de Compostela.
Numerous churches and hospitals in honor of the Apostle James were built along the Camino Francés during the 11th and 12th centuries . This is one of the reasons why the Camino Francés is considered the part of the route with the highest density of cultural treasures. In the villages along the way you can still see a "Calle del Camino" (street of the pilgrims 'route) or an "Iglesia de Santiago" (St. James' Church), which show the course of the medieval route.
The different publications sometimes give very different information about the length of the Camino Francés . On the one hand, this may be due to the different bases and methods of measurement, and on the other hand, to changes in the route. The James portal (see web links) gives the distance from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port 774 km.
The trail is also marked as the Spanish GR-65 long-distance hiking trail .
Detailed route guidance
(For daily stages of an average of 26 km)
Virtual inspection
With the two-part navigation bar Camino Francés , which is located at the end of the local article, it is possible to walk this Spanish Way of St. James virtually. In addition to the link to the previous and the following place - the following example shows the start and end points - the bar contains a fold-out overview of all places in the actual order towards Santiago de Compostela.
← Previous location: Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port | Camino Francés | Next town: Santiago de Compostela →
Movies
- 2010: Your Way ( The Way )
- 2015: I'll be gone then
literature
- José María Anguita Jaen: The Camino de Santiago. A practical guide for the pilgrim . 3rd edition 2007, ISBN 978-84-241-0422-1
- Tobias Büscher: Galicia and the Way of St. James , DuMont Reiseverlag, Ostfildern 2005, ISBN 3-7701-5705-2
- El Camino de Santiago . 1991, ISBN 84-7782-147-X
- Joan Fiol Boada: The Camino de Santiago. From Montserrat and from Saint Jean Pied de Port. Hampp publishing house. ISBN 978-3-936682-10-6
- Paulo Coelho: On the Camino de Santiago. Diary of a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Diogenes. 2007. ISBN 978-3257231151
- Ángel González: El Camino de Santiago por la Costa or Camino Norte . 2004, ISBN 84-241-0479-X
- Dietrich Höllhuber, Werner Schäfke : The Spanish Way of St. James : Landscape, History and Art on the Way to Santiago de Compostela, DuMont Buchverlag, Cologne 1999 (art travel guide), ISBN 3-7701-4862-2
- Raimund Joos, Michael Kasper: Spain, Camino Francés . 15th edition, Stein, Welver 2012, ISBN 978-3-86686-381-1
- Cordula Rabe: Rother hiking guide Spanish Way of St. James . 2nd edition, Bergverlag Rother , Munich 2006, ISBN 3-7633-4330-X
- Ulrich Wegner: Hiking on the Spanish Way of St. James . Dumont Buchverlag, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-7701-4770-7
- Christian Champion: sleep ~ eat Spanish Way of St. James . CADESA Carola Hansen, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-00-018830-5
- Hape Kerkeling : I'll be gone : My journey on the Way of St. James . Malik. May 2006, ISBN 3-89029-312-3
- Manfred Mönnich : I can still die : The Way of St. James . Mönnich. Jan 2017, ISBN 978-3742700315
Web links
- Official website of the German St. Jakobus Society e. V.
- Pilgrim information on the Camino Francés (private site)
- Entry on the UNESCO World Heritage Center website ( English and French ).
- Official website of the Centro Virtual Cervantes with a detailed description of all historical places and buildings on the Camino Francés (Spanish)
Coordinates: 42 ° 49 ′ N , 1 ° 38 ′ W