Santiago de Compostella is - of course - the city of pilgrims. Since the ninth century they have been coming from all over Europe to touch the relics of St James. He was the first christian martyr and the patron saint of Spain. Legend has it that his disciples brought his remains to Santiago to be buried. After Jerusalem and Rome, Santiago de Compostella is the third most holy city in Christendom.



Santiago's population is around 90,000 and most locals live in the outer reaches of town, suburbs and apartments which could be in any European town. The regional assembly is also in this area - Santiago's the capital of Galicia, the semi-autonomous province on the Atlantic seaboard of North Western Spain. The city is the home of the more than 500 years old University of Santiago de Compostella.

The bit of town worth seeing, the old quarter, is at the top of the hill. A medieval maze of narrow cobbled streets, gaping suddenly into large prazas (galego - the Galician tongue - for the Spanish plaza), it is beautiful and atmospheric. The Medieval city is a national monument and most of it can only be entered by foot. The main attraction of Santiago de Cmpostella is the cathedral. This has been the terminating point of the pilgrims route for about eighthunderd year now and it is still a sight to see today. The impressive Baroque facade at the Plaza de Obradoiro will take your breath away, as will the contrastingly sober and serene interior. With the cathedral you will find other interesting historic buildings like the treasury, the palace of Archbishop Gelmirez, cloisters, and an archaeological museum.

And if you have seen the cathedral, there are still dozens of monastries and churches left to visit. There is the large Benedictine San Martín, San Francisco (reputedly founded by Saint Francis himself while visitinf Santiago), Santa Clara, with it's curving facade, and Santo Domingo, with it's three seventeenth century spiring stairways leading to three different floost of the same tower.

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