San Marcos - Monte do Gozo
| Parish of Santiago de Compostela: San Marcos | |||
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| coat of arms | Map of Spain | ||
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| Basic data | |||
| Autonomous Community : | Galicia | ||
| Province : | A Coruña | ||
| Comarca : | Occidental (Comarca) | ||
| Coordinates | 42 ° 54 ′ N , 8 ° 30 ′ W | ||
| Height : | 340 msnm | ||
| Residents : | 828 (2011) INE | ||
| Area code: | 15078020500 | ||
San Marcos is a small town on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela in the A Coruña province of the autonomous community of Galicia . More well-known and sometimes also considered the place name by the pilgrims of St. James is the Monte do Gozo (Freudenberg) located in the municipality . From there, the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela and thus the destination of the pilgrimage can be seen for the first time .
In Jacob's book he is described as Mons Gaudii and a place of great emotional emotion among the pilgrims. Anyone who arrived here as the first of a group of pilgrims was made a pilgrim king by their companions , a circumstance that also affected German family names (for example in the forms König, Küng, Künig ). The Italian clergyman Domenico Laffi describes the arrival at Monte do Gozo in his travel diary published in 1673 as follows:
“When we reached the top of a mountain range called the 'Mountain of Joy' and saw the so-called Santiago lying open in front of us, we fell on our knees and tears of joy came from our eyes. We began to sing the ' Te Deum ', but scarcely could we utter two or three verses, for tears and sighs interrupted our singing too much and made our hearts tremble. "
From here pilgrims used to go bareheaded and barefoot, horses were led by the reins. In the current pilgrimage practice this is largely unusual or unknown. Only a few pilgrims run the last five kilometers as a spiritual exercise, to slow down mentally and physically before reaching the destination without shoes. The view of the cathedral is also difficult today due to the forest and urban development. With a practiced eye or binoculars, however, the tower lantern of the Torre de Reloj (clock tower) can be made out.
On Monte do Gozo, not far from the small hermitage, a modern memorial commemorates the visit of John Paul II in 1982 and relates him to the pilgrimage of St. Francis . On the occasion of the Holy Year 1993, a very large hostel complex was built below the hill, which today is mostly used as a student residence.
literature
- Míllan Bravo Lozano: Practical pilgrim guide. The Camino de Santiago. Editorial Everest, Léon 1994, ISBN 84-241-3835-X .
- Ulrich Wegner: The Spanish Way of St. James . Dumont Reiseverlag, Cologne 1995, ISBN 3-7701-3415-X .
Web links
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