German St. James Society

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The German St. Jakobus Society was founded on February 14, 1987 as a national association with an office in Aachen . Her areas of responsibility are the promotion of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela to the grave of the apostle James the Elder , scientific reflection on the pilgrimage and the cult of St. James in Germany , advising pilgrims , information and cultural exchange through European cooperation. The company has approx. 3000 members. A scientific advisory board that publishes its own series of books (Jakobus Studies) sets it apart from related organizations at home and abroad. The members' magazine Sternenweg appears twice a year .

activities

Advice and information

Pilgrims receive practical information and can have "Credenciales" issued. These passes entitle you to accommodation in the Spanish pilgrim hostels. Every year the office in Aachen answers countless inquiries and issues more than 10,000 credenciales.

Pilgrim hostels

On the Spanish Way of St. James , the construction and expansion of pilgrim hostels is promoted and supported with drive or donations from members. Members who are preparing for this work on voluntary assignments in the Spanish pilgrims' hostels as hostel fathers and mothers.

Way of the pilgrims in Germany

In Franconia and Swabia , a historically documented route of the St. James pilgrims from Nuremberg via Ulm and Bad Waldsee to Constance was marked and the connection to the Swiss Swabian route Constance - Einsiedeln was created. It is maintained by the German St. Jakobus Society. There are four pilgrim guides available for this route (see literature ).

In the Rhineland , the project "Paths of St. James pilgrims in the Rhineland" has been running since 1999 in cooperation with the Rhineland Regional Council. So far, three routes have been signposted and described in guides: 1. Wuppertal - Cologne - Aachen - Belgium , 2. Cologne - Trier - France . 3. Millingen am Rhein - Kevelaer - Roermond - Maastricht . A fourth route is being planned on the Lower Rhine .

In Westphalia , the Antiquities Commission for Westphalia of the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association has researched the routes of the Jacob pilgrims in Westphalia and made them accessible in twelve stages. The new routes often deviate from the historical route if the old routes are identical to modern highways. The individual stages are described in a publication: Osnabrück - Lengerich - Ladbergen - Schmedehausen - Münster - Drensteinfurt - Herbern - Werne - Cappenberg - Lünen (over the Lippe) - Dortmund - Dortmund-Hohensyburg - Hengsteysee - Herdecke / Ruhr - Hagen - Ennepetal - Gevelsberg - Schwelm - Wuppertal-Beyenburg.

In Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia , the Deutsche St. Jakobus-Gesellschaft eV has the project of an ecumenical pilgrimage in the course of the Via Regia from Görlitz to Vacha , which is carried out by the Evangelical Lutheran. Landesjugendpfarramt Sachsen is supervised, professionally supported and the historical-art-historical documentation of the path is processed.

The region of Northern Germany in the Deutsche St. Jakobus-Gesellschaft eV includes the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein , Lower Saxony , Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , Hamburg and Bremen . The members in the north have sought out some of the old and historically documented main routes of the cultural heritage of pilgrimages in the Middle Ages and early modern times for pilgrims from Scandinavia, the Baltic States and northern Germany, signposted them for today's pilgrim route friends and contributed to a pilgrim-friendly infrastructure. In the Northern Germany region of the German St. Jakobus Society eV, several paths of the St. James pilgrims have been successfully revived since 2007. The paths are marked with the shell symbol and the yellow arrow.

The Via Baltica today again leads pilgrims from Usedom on the Polish-German border via Rostock , Wismar , Lübeck , Hamburg and Bremen to Osnabrück , and from here further south on the Westphalian Way of St. James.

The Via Jutlandica brings pilgrims from the Scandinavian countries across the Danish-German border near Flensburg to Schleswig . In Schleswig the route splits into the central route via Rendsburg and Itzehoe to Glückstadt an der Elbe and the eastern route via Eckernförde , Kiel , Preetz and Plön to the Hanseatic city of Lübeck .

The Via Scandinavica leads from Fehmarn via Lübeck , Ratzeburg , Lauenburg , Lüneburg , Celle , Hanover , Hildesheim and Göttingen to Eisenach .

The Dithmarscher Jakobsweg , also known as the West Coast Path, runs in Schleswig-Holstein near the North Sea coast from Friedrichstadt via Windbergen and Brunsbüttel to Glückstadt an der Elbe.

The Birgittaweg connects Rügen with Tribsees and Bardowick , the Baltic-Central German route connects Rostock and Bad Wilsnack .

The Braunschweiger Jakobsweg connects the route coming from Berlin near Magdeburg , via Helmstedt , Braunschweig and Hildesheim , with Höxter . At Hildesheim it crosses the Via Scandinavica coming from the north. At Höxter it flows into the Westphalian Way to Paderborn .

Publications are available for most routes. The region of Northern Germany in the German St. Jakobus Society eV provides an overview of the pilgrim guides for the trails in Northern Germany.

Whether the destination is Rome or Santiago de Compostela , all routes are connected to the main routes in Westphalia, the Rhineland, central Germany and southern Germany - to Italy, France and the pilgrimage routes in Spain.

European cooperation

Since 1997 hikes have been undertaken with French pilgrims on pilgrimage routes in France and Germany. At the beginning of a holy year, those responsible for the pilgrimage in Spain and the parish priests on the Camino de Santiago are invited to the Charles Festival in Aachen.

Ecumenism

The Deutsche St. Jakobus-Gesellschaft eV works non-denominationally and feels committed to ecumenical concerns . She belongs to the working group of ecumenical pilgrimage routes in Germany , in which she works closely with Protestant and Catholic pilgrimage initiatives.

Meetings and congresses

Annual conferences have been held since 1987 at which scientists from their research area give lectures. 100 to 200 people take part in the conferences. The lectures are published in the volumes of the James Studies.

Conferences and their topics
  • 1987 in Aachen: German pilgrims to St. James and their reports
  • 1988 at Schney Castle near Bamberg: European routes of the Santiago pilgrimage
  • 1989 in Bremen: brotherhoods, testaments and pilgrimages to sea
  • 1990 in Münster: Spirituality of pilgrimage
  • 1991 in Regensburg: Patronage in Bavaria and Schottenklöster
  • 1992 in Weingarten: The Jacobus cult in the German southwest
  • 1993: On the occasion of the holy year study trip on the Camino de Santiago
  • 1994 in Goslar: Regional topics in connection with the Jakobus tradition
  • 1995 in Coesfeld: The St. James cult in art and literature I
  • 1996 in Würzburg: The St. James cult in art and literature II
  • 1997 in Innsbruck: City and Pilgrims - St. James cult and social communities
  • 1998 in St. Marienthal near Görlitz: Adoration of saints in Central Germany - relics, patronage, traces of cult
  • 1999 in Bad Honnef: The St. James cult in the Rhineland I
  • 2000 in Trier: The St. James cult in the Rhineland II
  • 2001 in Fulda: Jakobus and Charlemagne - From Einhard's Karlsvita to Pseudo-Turpin
  • 2002 in Göttingen: The cult of the apostle Jakobus d. Ä. in northern German Hanseatic cities
  • 2003 in Rothenburg od Tauber: The Jacobus cult in southern German imperial cities
  • 2004 in Jihlava / Iglau (Moravia): Bohemian country patron and pilgrimage traditions in the Czech Republic
  • 2005 in the Helfta monastery near Eisleben: The adoration of St. James in Saxony
  • 2006 in Augsburg: Augsburg networks between the Middle Ages and the modern age - economy, culture and pilgrimages
  • 2007 in the Abbey of Rolduc / Kerkrade (NL): James between veneration of saints and politics. Spanish, Dutch and Rhine-Maasland aspects
  • 2008 in Malchin: Piety - Pilgrimage - St. Jakobus in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
  • 2009 in Obernai / Alsace: pilgrim saints and their memoria
  • 2010 in Passau: Holy Years - Holy Times
  • 2011 in Paderborn: Pilgrimage routes - pilgrimage signs
  • 2012 in Heiligenstadt: Jakobus in song and stories
  • 2013 in Wiesbaden-Naurod: relics in motion
  • 2014 in the Himmelspforten monastery in Würzburg: Between heaven and earth - Jakobus in Franconia
  • 2015 in Bad Wilsnack: From adoration of the apostles to Eucharistic piety - Wilsnack as a European pilgrimage center
  • 2016 pilgrimage in Spain
  • 2017 in Nuremberg
  • 2018 in Essen-Werden
  • 2019 in Erfurt (topic: "Pilgrimage: Water - Bridges - Paths")

literature

Literature on paths that are maintained by the Deutsche St. Jakobsgesellschaft eV
  • Gerhilde Fleischer (Ed.): Way of St. James . Schwabenverlag, Ostfildern 1997 ff.
    • 1.1 Nuremberg, Schwabach, Abenberg, Kalbensteinberg, Gunzenhausen . 2. revised 2003 edition, ISBN 3-7966-0945-7 .
    • 1.2 Gunzenhausen, Markt Hweidenheim, Oettingen, Nördlingen, Neresheim, Giengen, Nerenstetten, Ulm . 3. revised Edition 2007, ISBN 978-3-7966-0955-8 .
    • 2 Ulm, Oberdischingen, Äpfingen, Biberach, Steinhausen, Bad Waldsee . 4th edition 2006, ISBN 3-7966-0905-8 .
    • 3 Bad Waldsee, Weingarten, Ravensburg, Brochenzell, Markdorf, Meersburg, Constance . 2. revised 1997 edition, ISBN 3-7966-0798-5 .
  • Christa et al. Martin Gottschewski: Pilgrimage and hiking guide to the Via Jutlandica east route. Welcome to the Camino de Santiago. Schleswig-Holstein, from Schleswig via Kiel to Lübeck. First edition 2019, ISBN 978-3-948125-01-1
Scientific series
  • James studies . Narr Verlag, Tübingen 1988 ff.
  1. Klaus Herbers (ed.): German pilgrims to St. James and their reports . Narr, Tübingen 1988, ISBN 3-8233-4000-X .
  2. Robert Plötz (Ed.): European ways of the Santiago pilgrimage . 1993, ISBN 3-8233-4001-8 .
  3. John Williams (Ed.): The Codex Calixtinus and the shrine of St. James . 1992, ISBN 3-8233-4004-2 .
  4. Ursula Ganz-Blättler (Ed.): Devotion and adventure. Reports of European pilgrims to Jerusalem and Santiago (1320-1520) . 1990, ISBN 3-8233-4003-4 .
  5. Klaus Herbers (Ed.): Spirituality of Pilgrimage. Continuity and Change , 1993, ISBN 3-8233-4005-0 .
  6. Thomas I. Becker: Eunater (Navarra). Between Santiago and Jerusalem; a late Romanesque St. Mary's Church on the Way of St. James . 1995, ISBN 3-8233-4006-9 .
  7. Klaus Herbers (ed.): The Jacobus cult in southern Germany. Cult history from a regional and European perspective . 1995, ISBN 3-8233-4007-7 .
  8. Klaus Herbers (Ed.): Libellus Sancti Jacobi. Excerpts from the Book of Jacob from the 12th century . 1997, ISBN 3-8233-4008-5 .
  9. Klaus Herbers (ed.): The Jacobean cult in "Art" and "Literature". Evidence in images, monuments, writing and sound . 1997, ISBN 3-8233-4009-3 .
  10. Klaus Herbers (ed.): City and pilgrims. Social communities and cult of saints . 1999, ISBN 3-8233-4010-7 .
  11. Luis M. Calvo Salgado: The miracles of the beggar women. Disease and healing stories in Burgos and Santo Domingo de la Calzada (1554-1559) . 2000, ISBN 3-8233-4011-5 (also dissertation, University of Zurich 1999).
  12. Klaus Herbers (ed.): The Jacob cult in East Central Europe. Exchange, influences, effects . 2003, ISBN 3-8233-4012-3 .
  13. Robert Plötz (Ed.): Jakobuskult in the Rhineland . 2004, ISBN 3-8233-6038-8 .
  14. Klaus Herbers (ed.): Jakobus and Karl der Grosse . 2003, ISBN 3-8233-6018-3 .
  15. Hedwig Röckelein (ed.): The cult of the apostle Jakobus d. Ä. in northern German Hanseatic cities . 2005, ISBN 3-8233-6039-6 .
  16. Klaus Herbers (ed.): The Upper German imperial cities and their saints cults. Traditions and characteristics between the city, the order of knights and the empire . Narr, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 3-8233-6192-9 .
  17. Klaus Herbers (Ed.): The Jacob cult in Saxony . 2007, ISBN 978-3-8233-6332-3 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jakobus Studies book series of the German St. Jakobus Society eV, 17 volumes published
  2. ↑ Via Baltica (PDF)
  3. ↑ Via Jutlandica (PDF)
  4. ↑ Via Scandinavica (PDF)
  5. ↑ Birgittaweg (PDF)
  6. ↑ Baltic-Central German Way (PDF)
  7. ↑ The annual meetings of the German St. Jakobusgesellschaft eV (PDF)