1,200th anniversary of Santiago de Compostela
2013 will mark the 1,200th anniversary of the discovery of the tomb of the Apostle Saint James by the Emperor Charlemagne, and the start of the pilgrimages. The history of Charlemagne - who died in 814 - allows us to define 813 as the symbolic date for this event and to understand the popularity of this pilgrimage in Europe. According to one legend, Charlemagne, called by Saint James, came to liberate his tomb, which had fallen into the hands of the Saracens. The burial place of this apostle, considered as the evangeliser of the whole of Spain, went on to become a place of pilgrimage visited by believers from all over the world. Named one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, the Way of Saint James is still walked each year by countless pilgrims in search of spirituality.
