Cities in Spain: Santiago de Compostela

Capital of the Autonomous Community Galicia – Santiago de Compostela – One of the most colorful cities in Spain. According to the legend, the remains of the Apostle Jacob are buried in the local cathedral, so many centuries of Santiago de Compostela are one of the shrines of the Catholic world, the center of Archbishopianism and the final point of the famous pilgrimage route of Kamino de Santiago (Holy Jacob’s path), which covered the whole territory Europe and the famous nickname "Christian Mecca". The medieval core of the city, with its numerous old buildings built from the characteristic local granite, was announced by the national monument and entered the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the best samples of medieval architecture. With all his fame, Santiago de Compostela remains a surprisingly small city – only 116 thousand people live here, of which 33 thousand are students of his famous university.

Among urban structures, an outstanding sample of Spanish architecture is of particular interest – the Cathedral (Catedral, XI-XVIII centuries., Open daily, in summer – from 9.00 to 20.00, in winter – from 9.00 to 19.00) with the famous "High altar" and "Portication of Glory" (Western Fronton of the first cathedral destroyed by Al-Mansur in 977), adjacent to the Cathedral Prasse Prasza-Du-deloo with its Paso-de-Rashi Palace, an elegant Renaissance parador Hostal-Dos Reis-Catholicos (XIII-XVII centuries.) and famous "Facade Iforeroo" – An amazing sample of the Baroque style, erected by the local architect Fernal de Casas in 1738-1750. Also good located nearby Archbishop Palace Paso-de Helmires (Palacio-Arsobspal-Helmires, XII-XIII centuries.), Prasa-Das Pothersia Square with its sculptural fountain, Palace Casa del Cabildo (XVIII in.) and Berengel Tower (height 70 m), as well as the Benedictine Monastery of San Martino-Pinario (one of the largest religious complexes in Spain – 20 thousand kV. m) on Prasa-da-enhakulad.

The most interesting museum of Santiago – Museo-Das-Das-Dom, located in the Paso-de-Don Pedro mansion (XVI in.), talks about the history of Camino de Santiago and other pilgrimages to religious shrines of the whole world. A little east of him can be found a female monastery and church of Santo Domingo with a unique triple staircase of the XVII century, each span of which leads to individual tier tiers. In the buildings of the Women’s Monastery, there is a charming Mose-Dowble-Gallejo, dedicated to the Galician traditions and crafts, and in the chapel there is a necropolis of the most famous people of the city. Opposite the female monastery, the building of the Center for Contemporary Art of Galicia with interesting temporary exhibitions is towers. Also deserve attention to the University complex, the Romanesque Church of Santa Maria-Du-Sar on the southern edge of the Old Town, Archaeological Museum and the Museum of Carpets (Spanish and Flemish tapestries, created in Figure F. Goya and P. Rubens).

Outside the capital, it is necessary to see the charming old stone cities of Galicia, among which Roman walls Lugo – The only Spanish city, who fully preserved the entire fortification of the Roman settlement (total length 3 km, 85 towers), indoor straw stone houses "Paloshas" Villages Sebaro (has the status of the national monument) and numerous monasteries and churches that secure rest pilgrims on the path of Kamino de Santiago. The most color are the complexes of monastery de samos (XIV-XVI centuries., 40 km west of Sebariro) and a large monastery of a fellow dosheshs (XIII-XVI centuries.) halfway between Lugo, Santiago and Betancos, however, almost all the length of the Galicia of such ancient monasteries and churches, many of them work so far.

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Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia, the North-West Province of Spain – the first European pilgrimage center after Rome. Read more →