• Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.
  • For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

Confused

Albergues on the Camino grew out of the Youth Hostel movement in Germany in early 1900. Hostels were originally designed to get poor children out of the city and into the fresh country air. Today, there are now hostels around the world.

It's the exact opposite -- the very word "hostel" is derived from the Mediaeval Latin "hospital", the meaning of which was "pilgrim's refuge". Later, the word diverged into the modern hospital, hotel, and hostel, losing its original meaning.

On the Camino, there are several villages called "Hospital de" something ; these names are NOT derived from "the Youth Hostel movement in Germany in early 1900". o_O They are derived from the fact that these villages were built around mediaeval pilgrim albergues. :cool:

Youth hostels are derived from pilgrim's albergues (not just those on the Camino, those that existed extensively throughout Europe on the various pilgrim Ways).
 
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I'm not sure that that thread supports your original assertion amigo. Sillydoll's post shows that the concept of paroquial and donativo Albergues grew out of a recognition that there were those who would wish to undertake the pilgrimage to Santiago who could not afford traditional hotel accommodation. There was also the recognition that such a concept would reflect and revive the medieval history of the pilgrimage and the Hospitals of old.

And none of it in any way linked to the concepts and intentions of the Youth Hostel movement.
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
The first edition came out in 2003 and has become the go-to-guide for many pilgrims over the years. It is shipping with a Pilgrim Passport (Credential) from the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.

Most read last week in this forum

La Voz de Galicia has reported the death of a 65 year old pilgrim from the United States this afternoon near Castromaior. The likely cause appears to be a heart attack. The pilgrim was walking the...
This is my first posting but as I look at the Camino, I worry about 'lack of solitude' given the number of people on the trail. I am looking to do the France route....as I want to have the...
The Burguete bomberos had another busy day yesterday. Picking up two pilgrims with symptoms of hypothermia and exhaustion near the Lepoeder pass and another near the Croix de Thibault who was...
Between Villafranca Montes de Oca and San Juan de Ortega there was a great resting place with benches, totem poles andvarious wooden art. A place of good vibes. It is now completely demolished...
Left Saint Jean this morning at 7am. Got to Roncesvalles just before 1:30. Weather was clear and beautiful! I didn't pre book, and was able to get a bed. I did hear they were all full by 4pm...
Hi there - we are two 'older' women from Australia who will be walking the Camino in September and October 2025 - we are tempted by the companies that pre book accomodation and bag transfers but...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top