St. James' Way pilgrimage routes in Germany
Anywhere in the world, anyone who is on a Way of St. James is heading in the direction of Santiago de Compostela. In Germany there are 30 official St. James paths. Let's take a look at the highlights:
The German Ways of St. James
In Germany, too, the Way of St. James can be identified by the sign with the symbolic yellow seashell. One nice thing about the German network of paths is that no one has to be afraid of crowds. On the contrary, a pilgrimage here is rather lonely.
The Way of St. James in Munich
The 250-kilometer (150-mile) hike starts in Munich, the capital of Bavaria. The destination: Lindau on Lake Constance. A nice stopover: Lake Starnberg, with its panoramic view of the Alps on a clear day.
Way of St. James in the Alpine foothills
This pilgrimage route connects the Austrian Way of St. James with Munich's Way of St. James and runs through the foothills of the Alps. Highlight on the 248-kilometer route: the pilgrimage church of St. Marinus and St. Anian in Wilparting, one of the oldest Christian places of worship in Bavaria and a pilgrimage site for over 1,000 years.
From Rothenburg to Rottenburg
Even the starting point is a highlight of this hike: the romantic little town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber in Bavaria with its timber-framed houses. The route then takes you 210 kilometers through the beautiful landscape of Franconia to Rottenburg am Neckar.
Palatinate Way of St. James
Both pilgrimage routes begin in the imperial cathedral of Speyer and then run toward France through the north and south of the Palatinate Forest. Germany's largest contiguous forest area impresses with natural beauty. On the southern Way of St. James, for example, a detour to the Schiller Rock in the Dahner Felsenland rock area is well worthwhile.
Way of St. James on the left bank of the Rhine
The picturesque Loreley Rock at the bend in the Rhine and a visit to the nearby medieval Katz Castle — these are some of the highlights of this Way of St. James, which runs along the river Rhine. For 240 kilometers, the pilgrimage route leads from Cologne via Bonn to Bingen through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Way of St. James on the river Moselle
The Moselle Camino leads 179 kilometers from Koblenz to Trier in southwestern Germany through the Moselle Valley. It passes by lovely vineyards and medieval castles and palaces. One highlight is the fairy tale castle of Cochem.
Via Regia (Royal Road)
This 450-kilometer hike from Görlitz in Saxony to Vacha in Thuringia features a late Romanesque Gothic masterpiece: Naumburg Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the 12 life-size sculptures of the donors, especially the serene Uta von Ballenstedt and Markgraf Ekkehard II of Meissen, are artistic highlights of the Middle Ages and early Gothic period.
Way of St. James in Brandenburg
From Berlin to Tangermünde (on the Elbe river) in Saxony-Anhalt, the route leads through fields and along avenues past historic small towns and pretty village churches. The heart of this route: Bad Wilsnack with the "miracle blood church" St. Nikolai — which was the most important pilgrimage site in northern Europe in the Middle Ages.
The Way of St. James in Jutland
Germany's northernmost Way of St. James was an important pilgrimage route for northern Europeans in the Middle Ages. It starts at Denmark's border and has two end points: Either the Way of St. James in Jutland leads to Lübeck or to Harsefeld in Lower Saxony. The second route runs through Glückstadt on the Elbe river, a pretty Renaissance town famous for its pickled herring specialty: Matjes.
The Way of St. James is the most popular pilgrimage route in the world. Every year, about 150,000 people walk in the footsteps of the apostle James, whose tomb is in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Those who refer to the Way of St. James usually mean the "Camino Frances," which leads from the French Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. In Europe, however, there is a whole network of St. James paths. Thirty of them are in Germany. Let's take a look at the highlights of these pilgrimage routes.