Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral is the reputed burial place of Saint James the Great, the apostle of Jesus Christ. It is also one of the only three known churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus.

According the legend, the tomb of Saint James was rediscovered in 814 AD. The king Alfonso II of Asturias ordered the construction of a chapel on the site. This was followed by the first church in 829 AD and then in 899 AD by a pre-Romanesque church, ordered by king Alfonso III of León, which caused the gradual development of this major place of pilgrimage. In 997 the early church was reduced to ashes by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir (938–1002), army commander of the caliph of Córdoba.

Construction of the present cathedral began in 1075 under the reign of Alfonso VI of Castile. It was halted several times and the cathedral was consecrated in not before 1211. The cathedral was expanded and embellished with additions in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.

The cathedral has historically been a place of pilgrimage on the Way of St. James since the Early Middle Ages and marks the traditional end of the pilgrimage route. The building is a Romanesque structure, with later Gothic and Baroque additions.

The cathedral's artistic high point is the Pórtico de la Gloria inside the west entrance, featuring 200 masterly Romanesque sculptures by Maestro Mateo, who was placed in charge of the cathedral-building programme in the late 12th century. Now with much of their original colour restored, these detailed, inspired and remarkably lifelike sculptures in Galician granite add up to a comprehensive review of major figures and scenes from the Bible.

User Reviews

J3M4ND (7 months ago)
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is a beautiful and extremely impressive building, that visually has much to offer. I would greatly recommend attending a church service, at least for me it was a great finish to my pilgrimage I also greatly appreciate that you can confess there in different languages, for example German.

Marcus Phillips (8 months ago)
Well worth the time invested to enjoy the beauty and the architecture. The red marble was a first for me. View the tomb of the apostle James evokes deep feelings of humility. To think that this man walk the earth with Christ Jesus..I did do the walk through of going behind the alter. I’m just not much on hugging the shrine, however. There are masses conducted at different times during the week and entry to go in and simply view the cathedrals is not allowed. Mass typically lasts about an hour so be sure to plan ahead of your schedule is tight.

Brendan Bachmann (8 months ago)
THE iconic sight of Santiago. The final destination of so many incredible journeys on foot, bike and even horseback. So many expectations, and somehow this magnificent cathedral lives up to them. If you ever visit Santiago, make sure you make it here - to the square, to see the emotional pilgrims make their way in; to a pilgrims mass, which really is a unique experience regardless of your religious status; and of course, inside to go give Saint James a hug.

Kym McKenna (10 months ago)
This iconic cathedral is the heart of the beautiful city of Santiago de Compostela. Watching the pilgrims arrive into the plaza at the end of their various Caminos is a treat. We did the rooftop and tower tour and loved it. Our guide spoke mainly in Spanish and then did a summary in English as well. It was very interesting to hear about the changes to the Cathedral over the centuries. I would say that you need to be reasonably fit to do the rooftop tour as there are many, many stairs, and it lasts about 90 minutes. The cost was 12 euros. Well worth it as it also includes entry to the Cathedral Museum. Entry into the Cathedral itself is free.

Mengyang Liu (10 months ago)
Apparently you have to visit this cathedral because of its historical significance. But the visiting experience was not very good. The instructions were not very clear and the ticket schemes were confusing. If the tourist service could be a bit friendlier, it would have been a better experience.

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Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

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