Camino Primitivo

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Oviedo Cathedral

The Camino Primitivo is considered to be the oldest route on the Camino de Santiago . It leads from the old Asturian capital Oviedo over 310 kilometers in a demanding way via Lugo to Santiago de Compostela .

history

Alfonso II, first pilgrim on the Camino Primitivo
Pilgrims on the Camino Primitivo
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Camino Primitivo means "original way". After Alfonso II , the chaste, had pushed back the Moors , he was the first to make a pilgrimage around 830 from his capital Oviedo to the grave of James the Elder, discovered a few years earlier . He had a sanctuary built here, around which the place Santiago de Compostela developed as a destination for long pilgrimages.

But the great streams of pilgrims never ran over the Camino Primitivo. Even before Santiago's ascent to one of the most important pilgrimage destinations, this route soon lost its importance to the Camino de la Costa and the Camino del Norte , and later to the Camino Francés , when León, the capital of the Kingdom of León, became the center of Christian Spain. It was only occasionally used as an alternative route.

Involvement

Today's pilgrims on the Camino Primitivo either start directly in Oviedo at the Oviedo Cathedral or turn off the coastal path at Gijon via a connecting path here. The Camino Primitivo then takes you via Lugo to the final section of the classic Camino Francés , which then leads from Melide to Santiago. The proportion of pilgrims who choose this route is only small at three to four percent, which is due to its demanding topography and nonetheless long stages.

Around 2010, the 228 kilometer long route to Melide was signposted in detail and provided with hostels with a few variants thanks to the commitment of the Jacobean Society of Oviedo and with the support of the Asturian provincial government.

course

The Camino Primitivo leads from Oviedo via Grado , Salas , Tineo , Lago , Grandas de Salime , Fonsagrada and Castro Verde to Lugo. Various passes with a height of up to 1200 m are crossed. From Lugo a feeder of 49 kilometers leads via San Román near Melide onto the Camino Francés . You can also go via Santa Eulalia de Bóveda to Sobrado dos Monxes (56 kilometers) and from there take the last part of the northern path.

literature

  • Raimund Joos: Camino Primitivo. Conrad-Stein-Verlag, 2018

Web links

Commons : Camino Primitivo  - collection of images, videos and audio files
  • Route on outdooractive.com

Individual evidence

  1. Camino Primitivo on jakobsweg.de
  2. Camino Primitivo - The original Way of St. James on jakobsweg-pilgern-spanien.de