141 million euro "master plan" to develop the Caminos for the 2027 Holy Year

[Bradypus]

An article detailing the very large investment which the Xunta intend to make to develop the Caminos in preparation for the next Holy Year in 2027. A total of 141 million euros.

El nuevo plan director del Camino está dotado con 141 millones, "casi el doble", al sumar fondos europeos

Está estructurado en siete líneas, la primera de ellas enfocada en conseguir un camino...

www.europapress.es

 

[SabsP]

Must not , must not...repeat to myself 100 times give a public answer here.Fondos Europeos...say no more.
I try to follow the forumrules but happy to talk about this subject in a pm.

 

[Bradypus]

Must not , must not...repeat to myself 100 times give a public answer here.Fondos Europeos...say no more.
I try to follow the forumrules but happy to talk about this subject in a pm.

The first words which passed my lips when I read the article could not be posted here either if I wanted to stay on the forum!

 

[Kathar1na]

. I think that I know what both of you are thinking … perhaps not even the same thing. Fondos europeos … I assumed that it is Feder money. Regional development. But I see in the article that it is NewGenerationEU money … and the government of Galicia must spend it somehow on something that vaguely fits the purpose …

 

[Kathar1na]

And it’s not so black and white: I read in this article that 32 million of these Euro euros are for the improvement and maintenance of the Galician network of public albergues and for creating new albergues in Galicia. And who helped to finance the stunning renovation of the albergue in Canfranc that everybody praises? You may have guessed it, it was Feder money: “el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) a través del Programa Interreg V-A España-Francia-Andorra (POCTEFA 2014-2020)”.

Ah, our good old Europe and the Camino that is supposedly its mainstreet as they like to say in Spain…

 

[Dani7]

Innovation, improvements (whether seen as good or bad) and change…in this modern world we have little control over that. How we experience it…we totally do. Especially when it comes to changing ourselves.

Time will tell how this benefits Spain and pilgrims. I hope the fédérales work to keep nature at the forefront of the experience.

 

[Anhalter]

So how many shiny new albergues with shiny kitchens without cookware is that gonna be?

 

[Tincatinker]

€32 million. That won't even cover the costs of the committees, consultants and architects......

 

[VNwalking]

Color me cynical. How much will be to widen and gravel otherwise beautiful paths on less traveled caminos? (Thinking of the Invierno)
But more albergies along there would be nice.
Hope the knee jerk reaction is wrong.

 

[Tincatinker]

A few thousand to make the Camino Verde an "Official" would be money well spent. A bit of signage and, as I recall, one footbridge would probably sort it

 

[Kathar1na]

You just have to pay a bit of attention occasionally. Surely, you didn’t think that all this is financed with your €6 per bed and night?

The Bilbao City Council will invest 3.2 million euros, 2.6 of them subsidised with European Next Generation funds, in converting an old water tower into an albergue for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago, which could be operational in the spring of 2024.​

Zaragoza aims to finance 30% of the renovation of the pilgrim albergue with EU funds. The extension works will start at the beginning of 2023 and will cost 4.5 million euros.​

 

[Kathar1na]

old water tower

It is actually not a water tower. It is a former deposito de aquas. Here is a photo of the project. I had not seen the photo earlier:

Bilbao convertirá el antiguo depósito de aguas de Zabalbide en un albergue para 60 peregrinos

El Ayuntamiento de Bilbao invertirá 3,2 millones de euros , de los cuales 2,6 millones estarán subvencionados por fondos europeos , a la reconversió

www.niusdiario.es

 

[Tincatinker]

Surely, you didn’t think that all this is financed with your €6 per bed and night?

I've always assumed that my €6 didn't even cover the cost of keeping the lights on and the shower water at least warm. That's why I've always tried to leave a lot more than that in any Donativo box I've tripped over.

I've also always assumed that the Xunta Galicia's drive to turn the Camino into a theme-park was in an attempt to attract the sort of Pilgrim that needs to be protected from muddy paths and random trip-hazards.

 

[Kathar1na]

I’ve also always assumed that the Xunta Galicia's drive to turn the Camino into a theme-park was in an attempt to attract the sort of Pilgrim that needs to be protected from muddy paths and random trip-hazards.

While I have never assumed, not for a minute, that the aim of their Xacobeo projects is my emotional, mental or spiritual well-being. At the very least I have never assumed that this is the primary aim of their Xacobeo projects …

 

[Bradypus]

For the first few years of the Camino revival in the 1980s the "infrastructure" was very low key and haphazard. An ad hoc collection of pilgrim refugios of very variable size and style. Mostly provided by local churches, confraternities and ayuntamientos. Little by way of systematic planning or oversight. The first purpose-built chain of pilgrim albergues was part of a very deliberate plan by the Xunta to use the 1993 holy year as a springboard for increasing visitor numbers. From that point on the Camino in Galicia has very much been a government project as much as a religious one. I've often wondered if the Caminos would have seen such a huge explosion in numbers if it had been left to evolve more organically as a largely voluntary project. The proposals in the article sound very much like the 1993 efforts but with more zeros on the figures!

 

[Sirage]

A few thousand euros to clean up 100 metres of the Rio Nacimiento upstream of Alboloduy would be a great investment. There are no doubt many many other micro projects like this, as well as the obvious need for basic albergues at many places on the quiet casinos, etc etc.

But perhaps that photo on a statistics thread recently wasn’t crowded enough.

 

[Kathar1na]

I've often wondered if the Caminos would have seen such a huge explosion in numbers if it had been left to evolve more organically as a largely voluntary project.

I tend to think that the Caminos would be a low-key affair with a very modest infrastructure and very low numbers of peregrin@s, similarly to what one finds today in Germany, Benelux, England and most of France, if it had not been for the investment and promotion in particular by Galician politicians and Galician governments.

I think that their policies have been successful beyond their dreams and they’ve not stopped yet: 1.7 million euros, says the linked article, will go to the international promotion of the route, but the latter will be "modulable" due to the "enormous interest" that the Xunta can see beyond Spanish borders.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

an attempt to attract the sort of Pilgrim that needs to be protected from muddy paths and random trip-hazards.

It doesn't seem to be needed, reading current postings on other threads.

 

[El Cascayal]

Would that these sums be used to protect and restore the Earth and the environment. To support ancient trails, river and streams?
Would that these funds be used in the Spirit of what the Camino is?
All of these have so many possible interpretations. So many who “live off of” the Camino do so in good faith and good will.
How does the Xunta in Galicia factor in all of this? Both beneficial and also detrimental. To make it a Feria, amusement park or tourist attraction is and would be so painful. All things change for better for worse or both simultaneously. The Caminos will survive as they have through many centuries as will the Peregrinos.

 

[El Cascayal]

think that their policies have been successful beyond their dreams and they’ve not stopped yet: 1.7 million euros, says the linked article, will go to the international promotion of the route, but the latter will be "modulable" due to the "enormous interest" that the Xunta can see beyond Spanish borders.

I often wonder when traipsing the distance of an outstretched arm next to someone’s door or windows, how tired must these people be of all this foot traffic on the more traveled routes? “The first 5000 we’re a novelty, but it’s gotten old already”.
On the other hand, the world walks by your doorstep without you going anywhere. So many hamlets have been revived ant thrive because of the Camino and towns where 1 elder is the last one standing that person is happy for the company.

 

[Kathar1na]

How does the Xunta in Galicia factor in all of this?

The word Xacobeo, in the given context, does not mean Camino de Santiago or pilgrimage or Holy Year. Xacopedia defines it as follows (translated):

At the beginning of the 1990’s years, the adjective xacobeo (in the Galician language) was transformed into a noun - Xacobeo - and it was chosen by the Xunta de Galicia - the autonomous government of this Spanish community - as the brand name for an ambitious promotional, cultural and tourist programme to revitalise the Camino de Santiago, taking advantage of the religious celebration of the Compostelan Holy Years that take place every 6, 5, 6 and 11 years.​

As to the protection of the environment: Yes, these EU funds that are earmarked for Spain can be used for such purposes but not in the way you mentioned. Rather - and this has already been done in a few albergues such as Nicolas de Flüe in Ponferrada for example - to reduce electricity and water consumption by installing LED lighting, digital smart counters, or to improve waste water treatment, or to reduce CO2 output and so on and so on. Most pilgrims won’t even notice. Emphasis is always on benefits for the region and for the people who live in the region (in particular in marginalised regions or in one of the poorer regions of the EU; Galicia in particular belongs to this category) with the idea of fostering regional economic development and job creation - or at least no further loss of jobs and income opportunities.

 

[El Cascayal]

As to the protection of the environment: Yes, these EU funds that are earmarked for Spain can be used for such purposes but not in the way you mentioned. Rather - and this has already been done in a few albergues such as Nicolas de Flüe in Ponferrada for example - to reduce electricity and water consumption by installing LED lighting, digital smart counters, or to improve waste water treatment, or to reduce CO2 output and so on and so on. Most pilgrims won’t even notice. Emphasis is always on benefits for the region and for the people who live in the region (in particular in marginalised regions or in one of the poorer regions of the EU; Galicia in particular belongs to this category) with the idea of fostering regional economic development and job creation - or at least no further loss of jobs and income opportunities

Yes, I definitely agree. Thanks for laying it out so beautifully.

 

[Keith H]

As one that is new to living in Europe this was an interesting read. Perhaps delving deeper would be best done over a vino tinto!

 

[Kathar1na]

As one that is new to living in Europe this was an interesting read. Perhaps delving deeper would be best done over a vino tinto!

Good idea .There is of course waste, corruption and outright criminal fraud in various countries, and these stories are legendary, but on the whole I think that this system of financial support and financial transfer from richer to poorer has benefitted these poorer countries and regions and the people who live there. The current mega program was hashed out by the 27 governments during the Covid crisis and aims to address the economic setback. Spain is a major beneficiary.

Here is an article about the co-financed works at the Ponferrada albergue and the other four albergues https://www.tribunavalladolid.com/n...nferrada-y-samos-el-proyecto-life-starsmas-20. We usually don’t hear about this or register it. But the unwelcome conditioning of trails and the lack of kitchenware in otherwise well equipped albergue kitchens in Galicia - we all know that.

 

[VNwalking]

We usually don’t hear about this or register it.

Good point. Or (as you have said) even know the improvements that have been made.

 

[alhartman]

I hope there is a "lessons learned' document from 1993 so infrastructure like this is avoided:
And marketing/publicity like this:

 

[Bradypus]

And marketing/publicity like this:

Pelegrin - the official 1993 Holy Year mascot. I've always found it a slightly creepy image with those blank staring eyes. Mickey Mouse as drawn by Picasso on a very bad day. Not sure it was much worse than Xubi the 2010 mascot though

 

[Kathar1na]

For your entertainment: I happened to come across the Spanish law that is the basis for the distribution of these sums. It happens to have a list of all the trails that the Spanish ministry in question regards as “Camino de Santiago” these days. An impressive list, with 3 categories:

«Esta orden será de aplicación en todo el territorio nacional siempre que los proyectos presentados estén relacionados con el Camino de Santiago en sus diferentes rutas en España:

a) Camino Francés: Ruta habitual de los peregrinos europeos desde la Edad Media que tiene su comienzo en España en Roncesvalles-Valcarlos (Navarra) y en Somport-Canfranc (Aragón). Documentada etapa por etapa desde el siglo XII, protegida por el Estado como conjunto histórico desde 1962 e incluida en la lista de Patrimonio Mundial por UNESCO en 1993. Es la ruta elegida en mayor medida como destino turístico hoy en día.

b) Caminos delimitados por el Consejo Jacobeo: Camino de la Costa (Camino del Norte), Camino Primitivo, Camino del Interior Vasco-Riojano, Camino Liebaniego, Camino Catalano-Aragonés.

c) Otros caminos: Camino Portugués desde Tui, Camino Inglés, Camino de Fisterra y Muxia, Camino Mozárabe-Vía de la Plata (Camino Sanabrés), Camino de Invierno, Camino Portugués de la Costa-A Guarda-Baiona-Vigo-Redondela, Ruta del Mar de Arousa y Río Ulla, Camino Variante Espiritual, Camino Olvidado, Camino Vasco del Interior, Camino de El Salvador, Ruta Vadiniense, Camino Calzada de los Blendios, Camino del Valle de Mena-Bilbao-Balmaseda-Burgos, Camino Vía de Bayona, Camino de Baztán, Camino de las Asturias, Vía de la Plata-Camino Mozárabe a Santiago, Camino Mozárabe de Almería, Camino Mozárabe de Córdoba, Camino Mozárabe de Granada, Camino Mozárabe de Jaén, Camino Mozárabe de Málaga, Camino Sur de Huelva, Vía Augusta desde Cádiz, Vía de la Plata de Zamora a Astorga, Camino de Madrid, Camino Castellano Aragonés en Soria, Camino Manchego de Ciudad Real a Toledo, Camino de la Santa Cruz, Camino Mendocino a Santiago, Camino de Levante, Camino de Santiago de Castellón-Bajo Aragón, Camino de Sagunto, Camino de la Lana Valencia-Requena, Camino Jacobeo del Ebro, Camino de Santiago de Montserrat a San Juan de la Peña, Camí Catala de Sant Jaume Girona-Vic-Manresa, Camí Catala de Sant Jaume de Barcelona, Camí Catalá de Sant Jaume Girona-Terrasa-Monserrat, Camino del Sureste, Camino de la Lana, Ruta del Argar, Camino Argar del Sureste de Almería, Camino del Alba, Camino del Sureste desde Benidorm, Camino del Sureste-Ramal Sur, Camino del Sureste-Cartagena-Murcia, Ruta Jacobea Insular Tunte-Galdar y Camino de Mallorca.»

 

[VNwalking]

Always looking for new caminos, as if I need them...but these jumped out at me as...well...???

Camino Calzada de los Blendios,

Camino del Valle de Mena-Bilbao-Balmaseda-Burgos

Camino Manchego de Ciudad Real a Toledo,

Camino de la Santa Cruz,

The second one....ooooooo....