Yes I've browsed it before but thanks for reminding me of it.
This might be a mistaken assumption, but it seems to like the routes with the most development are in those regions which were traditionally Protestant. Is this accurate? Was there some kind of pilgrimage revival in German Protestantism over the last few decades?
Hi there
@Madrood
...in 1987 the Council of Europe certified el
Camino de Santiago de Compostela as the First Cultural Route of Europe. Also, later, in 1993 El Camino became a UNESCO World Heritage Site...
I would think these two events have had a significant impact on the European public´s awareness of ancient pilgrimage routes.
Personally, I don´t know enough to comment on the revival of pilgrim trails in Protestant Germany but I can give some annecdotal evidence: Before setting off from Trondheim I was welcomed at the cathedral by a volunteer Pilegrims Pastor from Denmark, Elisabeth Lidell -an Ev Lutheran pastor and pilgrimage guide whose husband was architect for the creation of pilgrim hostals along the Haervejen trail in Denmark. Pastor Lidell put me in touch with the Pilgerpastor at the Hauptkirche St-Jacobi in Hamburg, Pastor Bernd Lohse. She suggested I send my heavy winter gear ahead to him, there.
Pastor Lohse was well known in Northern Germany and Norway at the time. For many years he had guided groups of German pilgrims along the St Olafs trail from Oslo to Nidaros -Trondheim. Pastor Lohse also featured in televised documentaries about The St Olafs Way.
When I arrived in Hamburg, in frightful weather, Ps Lohse took good care of me. He set up a stretcher with new blankets and pillows in one of the church offices. Then he took me to a local restaurant and paid for meals. The following day I was invited to attend a pilgrims meeting for former and future pilgrims. These gatherings were regular, I think. Before setting off again, Ps Lohse prayed with me by the charred figure of St Jacobi which had miraculously survived the terrble fires of WW2.
I often heard it said as I walked through the north that the revival of pilgrimage in Germany owed much to the commedian Hape Kerkeling whose book and movie about walking to SdC were quite a hit:
´I´m Off Then´ by Hape Kerkeling
en.m.wikipedia.org
Guten Weg Pilger!
By the charred statue of St Jacobi, Hauptkirche St Jacobi, Hamburg. 20 Dec, 2010.
2500 kms to Santiago de Compostela. Camino sign outside the Hauptkirche St Jacobi in Hamburg, Germany.