Finca Anduriñas
History · Camino de SantiagoHistory of the Camino
de Santiago
From the discovery of the Apostle's tomb in the 9th century to the great living route of today: twelve centuries of pilgrims walking to Compostela.
The field
of stars
9th century, in a forest of ancient Gallaecia.
Between the years 820 and 830, the hermit Pelayo watched for several nights a glow of stars over the forest of Libredón. He told Bishop Teodomiro of Iria Flavia, who, after days of fasting and prayer, found a tomb that tradition identified with the remains of the Apostle James the Greater.
King Alfonso II of Asturias travelled from Oviedo to the site —thus opening the Primitive Way, the oldest route— and ordered a first church built over the tomb. That chapel would become, centuries later, the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.
One of the three
great pilgrimages
Alongside Jerusalem and Rome, Santiago moved all of Christendom.
Between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Camino lived its golden age. Kings, monks and pilgrims from all over Europe wove a network of routes, hospitals and monasteries. In the 12th century, the Codex Calixtinus (the Liber Sancti Jacobi) collected the first guide to the French Way and some of the earliest polyphony in Europe.
Santiago de Compostela became, alongside Jerusalem and Rome, one of the three great pilgrimage destinations of Christendom, and an extraordinary channel of cultural exchange between peoples.
From oblivion
to today's Camino
Wars, epidemics and the changes of the Modern Age reduced the pilgrimage for centuries. The revival came in the 20th century: in 1987 the Council of Europe declared the Camino the First European Cultural Route, and in 1993 UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site (the Northern Routes followed in 2015).
Since then, and boosted by the Holy Years (Xacobeo), hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world walk its routes every year, on foot or by bicycle, for spiritual, sporting or cultural reasons.
Stamps, credential
and Compostela
The pilgrim's credential is the document that records the journey: it is stamped at hostels, churches, bars and points of interest along the Camino. On reaching Santiago, anyone who has walked at least the last 100 km (or 200 km by bike) can obtain the Compostela at the Pilgrim's Office.
Each stamp is a memory and a trace of the road walked. At Km 24.448, Finca Anduriñas offers a handmade wax stamp, one of the most distinctive on the final approach to Santiago.
The history of the Camino in brief
Who discovered the Apostle's tomb?
According to tradition, Bishop Teodomiro of Iria Flavia, between 820 and 830, after the hermit Pelayo saw a shower of stars over the forest. King Alfonso II of Asturias came to the site and became the first pilgrim, opening the Primitive Way.
Why is it called Compostela?
Popular tradition links it to 'Campus Stellae' (field of stars), from the glow that led to the tomb's discovery. Scholars also point to the Latin 'compositum' (a cemetery or well-built place). Both explanations coexist.
What is the Codex Calixtinus?
A 12th-century manuscript (the Liber Sancti Jacobi, compiled around 1138–1145). It contains the first guide to the French Way and some of the earliest polyphonic music in Europe. It is kept in Santiago cathedral.
When was it declared a World Heritage Site?
UNESCO listed the French Way in Spain as a World Heritage Site in 1993, and the Northern Routes in 2015. Earlier, in 1987, the Council of Europe named it the First European Cultural Route.
What is the original route of the Camino?
The Primitive Way, the route King Alfonso II took from Oviedo in the 9th century. It is the oldest documented trace of the Jacobean pilgrimage.
What is a Holy Year or Xacobeo?
The year when St James's Day (25 July) falls on a Sunday. In Holy Years the Holy Door of the cathedral is opened and the pilgrimage takes on a special jubilee meaning.
One more link
in the Camino
Finca Anduriñas continues, today, the tradition of welcoming the pilgrim: rest, a wax stamp and Galician food by donation in A Estrada, Pontevedra.