Santiago De Compostela

Santiago de Compostela (2004 pop. 92,298) is the capital of the Autonomous Community of Galicia . Located in the northwest region of Spain in the Province of A Coruña , it is the " European City Of Culture " for the year 2000. The city's Cathedral is the destination of the important Medieval Pilgrimage route, the Way Of St James (in Spanish the ''Camino de Santiago''), which is still walked today.

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THE CITY

The cathedral fronts on the main Plaza of the old and well-preserved city. Across the square is the Pazo de Raxoi (Raxoi's Palace), the town hall and seat of the Galician Xunta , and on the right from the cathedral steps is the Hostal de Los Reyes Católicos, founded in 1492 by the Catholic Kings , Isabela and Fernando, as a pilgrim's hospice (now a Parador ). The Obradoiro façade of the cathedral, the best known, is depicted on the Spanish Euro Coins of 1 cent, 2 cents, and 5 cents (€0.01, €0.02, and €0.05).

Santiago also has a fine University which can be seen best from an alcove in the large municipal park in the centre of the city. The University ensures youthful night life. Within the old town there are many narrow winding streets full of historic buildings. The new town all around it has less character though some of the older parts of the new town have some big apartments in them.

Santiago gives its name to one of the four military orders of Spain: Compostela, Calatrava, Alcantara and Montesa.

The prevailing wind from the Atlantic and the surrounding mountains combine to give Santiago some of Europe's highest rainfall: about 66 inches annually.

The etymology of the name ''Compostela''

The popular etymology of the name "Compostela" holds that it comes from Latin ''campus stellae'', i.e. "field of the star", making Santiago de Compostela "St. James in the Field of the Star". This name would come from the belief that the bones of St. James were taken from the Middle East, to Spain. These bones were then buried where a shepherd had spotted a star and a church was eventually built over the bones and later replaced with the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela.

Another etymology is ''Compositum'', i.e. "The well founded", or ''Composita Tella'', meaning "burial ground".

Yet another etymology derives it from "San Jacome Apostol".

DEMOGRAPHY

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Santiago De Compostela