Via Meerbusch… to Santiago. A German Pilgrim’s way of St. James

If you walk in the footsteps of St. James on the Pilgrim’s way of St. James, you can certainly pass through Meerbusch. Many roads lead to Santiago de Compostela. A few days ago we had a small group of pilgrims staying with us in our hotel. An occasion for me to write this text. Perhaps as a suggestion for a very special journey on foot. A journey which does not always have to take place in Spain, but can rather begin on your own doorstep.

The yellow-blue shell symbol for the pilgrimage is also to be found here, in Meerbusch-Büderich. Less than 100 metres from our house, on the corner of Forsthausweg and Am Breil, the pilgrim path runs along. Even though pilgrimages here of course take place in a much smaller scale than on the “classic route” in Spain, and in comparison to this, they are rather sporadic. The Pilgrim’s Way to Santiago does not only exist in Spain, but runs throughout Europe. In Germany as well as in Switzerland and Austria, there is also a whole network of St. James’ Routes that are connected with each other.

In Germany alone there are more than 30 St. James’ Way routes. They are of different lengths, run into each other and can therefore be connected very easily. A long journey, for example from Germany, through Switzerland and France to Spain and Santiago de Compostela, can also be done in stages.

If you like, you can put together a journey that takes several months and thousands of kilometres. Many pilgrims divide such a long journey into many small sections, walking their way over several years. Just like our guests who had come from Rheinberg and set off from us on the way to Zons.

“I’m out.” The Pilgrim’s way of St. James.

Not least with the book by Hape Kerkeling, “Ich bin dann mal weg” (= I’m out.) , the number of pilgrims from Germany on the “classical” Pilgrim’s way of St. James in northern Spain has skyrocketed. The book has been sold millions of times, given away, read. One year after the year of publication of his very personal travel report (2007), the number of pilgrims from Germany was 71% higher than the year before, with almost 14,000 pilgrims. As the “Kerkeling Effect” this phenomenon has gone down in the history of pilgrimage (tourism).
And whoever hears “Camino de Santiago” today is probably the first to think of this “classic”, the Camino Frances in northern Spain, which leads from the Pyrenees to the tomb of the apostle James. This route to Santiago de Compostela, as it is still used today, was already established in the first half of the 11th century.

In the meantime the “Kerkeling Boom” has subsided a little, but the Spanish-Galician Camino de Santiago (Galician: Camiño de Santiago) is still in the lead. In 2019, almost 348 thousand people from all over the world were on this route. And the personal reasons for such a special walk, personal “stock-taking” and reflection are certainly as varied as the individual people who set out on such a journey.

Perhaps it is worth considering to set out on this journey. And maybe it doesn’t have to go to Spain in the first step. If your route takes you through the Rhineland, to Meerbusch, Zone or Neuss, you can stay overnight with us.