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The most spectacular destination was, of course, the Holy Land, where the
pilgrim would literally walk in the footsteps of Jesus. Christians had
travelled to Palestine already during the 3rd century for this
very purpose. During the early Middle Ages
pilgrimages of this kind gained in popularity, even if it was still only a
possibility for a few people. This was because a journey of this kind was an
expensive enterprise, and partly because the Holy Land became less accessible,
due to the Arabic expansion.
The second most important city was Rome, the city
of Peter and Paul, with countless graves of martyrs. Through a
well-planned strategy by the Pope, the popularity of Rome as
the most important destination for a pilgrimage eventually grew. But even
if Rome and the Holy Land were of a higher status, the destination that
involved the most pilgrims during the Middle Ages was Santiago de
Compostela in Spain.
| The importance of the city also grew when the Turks had blocked the way
to Jerusalem, and when the popes had been driven away from Rome. No
less than half a million pilgrims came to Compostela and the grave
of the Holy James every year. Along the way, the people had built
countless churches, convents and lodgings. The route for the
pilgrims to Compostela can be said to have been the basis of the
middle age European Christian cultural union. Architecture,
sculpture and the painting of church walls blossomed. The Christian
togetherness grew stronger, as the people felt they had a common
enemy in the Arab intruders in Spain. Today, when the thought of
pilgrimages once again seem to have been reborn, between 25,000 and
50,000 people wander along the beautiful road to Compostela |
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Some other important international destinations for the pilgrimages were
Canterbury, Köln (Cologne) and Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle). Nidaros (Trondheim) in Norway was the fourth
most common destination for medieval pilgrims.
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