The influx is sparking concerns among locals about respect and preservation of their community.

Roberto Almuina, 73, chairman of the 600-member residents' association, voices these concerns: "We don't have the slightest problem sharing our city with visitors. The only thing we ask for is respect."

Every day, around 1,500 pilgrims arrive on foot or by bike, alongside other tourists and day-trippers who come by bus or cruise ship.

This surge leads to congested streets and noise pollution, with city guides using loudspeakers, despite regulations.

Videos on social media show groups of pilgrims entering Santiago de Compostela, often singing and shouting.

"This has to stop" one resident is heard saying in a video.

Almuina describes the situation as "unbearable" and criticises the large groups blocking the narrow streets of the old town.

"Groups of 40 people in six-metre-wide streets in the old town are not welcome" he exclaims.

Cyclists navigating through the historic centre and littering in the cathedral square are also major issues.

"This isn't a picnic area or a beach on the Mediterranean. This no longer seems normal to me. I don't do that myself when I'm in a foreign city" Almuina adds.

Fragile Santiago campaign

The residents' association seeks dialogue with local authorities instead of protesting.

Almuina suggests setting up information centres at key city entrances to inform visitors about proper behaviour.

The guidelines are often overlooked - despite the existing "Fragile Santiago" campaign which advises pilgrims to avoid noise and refrain from using walking sticks that cause pavement damage.

Almuina also proposes a tax on day-trippers to cover waste disposal costs, arguing that pilgrims should not be exempt from such fees.

Many popular tourist destinations have already implemented such a tax.

Mass tourism is likely to keep the city busy in the future.

Last year, 446,077 pilgrims received their diplomas in Santiago de Compostela, setting a record.

By mid-July 2024, the pilgrims' office reported a 15% increase over the previous year.

Sources

Katholisch

The Economic Times

Hivert - described as "a most extraordinary pilgrim" is due to arrive at the shrine in northwestern Spain on October 27th after joining a group of friends to walk the final 21 kilometers. They began the pilgrimage back in 2001.

The petite Hivert, an avid hiker, has astonished people by her stamina. She was featured two years ago in the pages of La Charente Libre as a ray of winter sunshine, with her walking stick in hand, short hair blowing in the wind and a broad smile on her face. Read more

Now, over 200,000 people a year spend several gruelling weeks along the route.

Traditionalists turn up their noses at the crowds, but the rewards are still vast.

In the Middle Ages, pilgrimages were neither a quest for meaning, nor an opportunity for contemplation, nor an event.

People had real worries and pilgrimages were part of a deal.

On the one hand was the willingness of the faithful to suffer, on the other was God's capacity for deliverance.

The one walks, the other heals — a transaction based on reciprocity.

Similar to mendicants, pilgrims had no possessions beyond what they carried with them: a walking stick, a small sack of belongings, a gourd full of drinking water and the clothes on their back.

They were filled with reverence and, not uncommonly, a thirst for adventure.

The grave of St. James in Santiago de Compostela has been a pilgrimage site for over 1,000 years.

When times were quiet, only a dozen people would make the effort.

At other times, it would be a couple of thousand.

But the quiet years are over.

More than 200,000 people followed the Way of St. James last year. And this year, those who make money from the steady stream of wayfarers are in a particularly celebratory mood.

Four million copies of the book "I'm Off Then: Losing and Finding Myself on the Camino de Santiago" by German TV celebrity Hape Kerkeling have been sold in Germany, and its impact has been huge: Since its publication in German nine years ago, Germans have made up the largest share of foreigners making the pilgrimage.

Last year, according to church statistics, 16,000 of them turned up in Santiago, a new record. And now, German public television station ARD is making the movie. Continue reading

Source

• Article and image: Spiegel Online