Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the Spanish Autonomous Community of Galicia. The story of its origin is interesting and still holds the religious significance of the city on a pedestal. According to legend, after the death of the Holy Apostle James Zebedee, his disciples Theodore and Athanasius brought his relics from Jerusalem to Galicia.
In 814, the hermit Pelagius noticed a miraculous light shining over the forest where Jacob was buried. Hearing of the vision, King Alfonso II of Asturias went to the place and ordered the Campus Stellae (Compostela) or the so-called "Field of the Star", to build a temple and a monastery. It was around them that Santiago de Compostela arose.
In the Middle Ages, the city became the third holiest place for Christians after Jerusalem and Rome, and streams of pilgrims began to flock to its cathedral from all over Europe. If in 1985 in the sanctuary of Santiago de Compostela were registered a total of 690 pilgrims who came to pray, in 2007 their number was 144,000. Upon arrival, they adorn themselves with mussel shells as proof that they have completed the difficult journey.
Today, the imitations of mussel shells sold on street stalls are a testament to the thriving tourism industry - people flock on foot, on bicycles and even on horseback. In 1987, the Council of Europe defined the road to Santiago de Compostela as "the path of European culture", and in 1993 it included the church of St. Jacob and the whole city in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The famous pilgrimage route The road to Santiago, starting in southern France, ends at the local cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. For centuries, pilgrims have touched the central pilasters with gratitude for their safe arrival, as evidenced by countless fingerprints.
In the twelfth century, Pope Calixtus established a complete remission of sins for all pilgrims who arrived in Santiago de Compostela in the holy year or the jubilee year of James (the year when the day of remembrance of the apostle July 25 falls on Sunday). The tympanum above the portal depicts the Creation of Christ, and on either side are the four evangelists with the 24 elders according to the Apocalypse. The seated figure of St. James is above the central pilaster. Behind him is a statue of Santo dos Croques, considered a self-portrait of the master Mateo. There is a belief that dictates that wisdom is given to one who strikes his head three times. Breathtaking bas-relief sculptures recreate biblical characters from Adam and Eve to the scourging of Christ.
The uninterrupted flow of visitors for a moment does not disrupt the daily rhythm of the cathedral. It remains active with numerous confessional and side chapels. During the big holidays, the ceiling of the dome is hung by Botafumeiro - a huge censer that swings like a pendulum in front of the stunning baroque high altar. Next to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the Palacio Helmires, once an episcopal palace and now an exhibition hall. The impressive facades of the Collegio de San Hermonimo, Paso Rashoy, the seat of the Galician government, and the Antiguo Hospital Real, founded in the 16th century to care for sick pilgrims and now a luxury state hotel, are also admirable. Praza das Praterias - the square of the guild of goldsmiths, and the square of Praza da Quintana - a former cemetery founded in the 19th century to house the tomb of St. James, are two overgrown connected squares, creating a magnificent setting in Santiago de Compostela.
A museum of the Gallic people has been erected in the city, and it is the former convent of the Convento de Santo Domingo de Bonaval, whose halls are located around a gallery immersed in greenery. The Peregrinaciones Museum was built to tell how the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela originated, and a few meters below it is the church of San Martin Pinario.