The Way of St. James does not simply have a beginning and an end.
Because on the one hand, it is said that the actual route only begins for you in Santiago de Compostela, so it can’t end there.
And on the other hand, they say that the Way of St. James starts right on your doorstep. In other words, on everyone’s doorstep. And so it does not have a general beginning, but only a very personal one.
That is why there are signposts to Santiago scattered all over Europe. Here are some of them:
790 kilometers from Roncesvalles
So if you live here, then you really do live at the start of the Way of St. James and prove my above statement wrong. Because then you really do live where the Way of St. James begins. But Manfred Flach probably only walked past here when he started the Camino Francés. When you see this sign, this is the start of the “classic” Way of St. James.
648 kilometers from Madrid
We don’t know exactly where it is, but it is on the very rarely traveled Camino de Madrid. Photo by Mo Wa.
998 kilometers from Cordoba
Photo by Patricia Corthorn
1,521 kilometers from Le Puy-en-Velay
This sign marks the start of the Via Podiensis in Le Puy-en-Velay, France, and Nikko Gil photographed it.
1,865 kilometers from the Swiss-French border
How nice that Switzerland says goodbye to pilgrims at the border crossing with this sign. Photo by Oli Ver.
2,076 kilometers from Chablis
Carola photographed this sign in Chablis, France.
2,125 kilometers from Monreal
This beautiful pillar stands on the Alter Monrealer Weg, photographed by Andrea Roberts
2,150 kilometers from Gois
This particularly beautiful signpost can be found in Austria in front of the Jakobskirche church in Gois near Salzburg. Photographed by Eva Nemec.
2,155 kilometers from Champagne
Carola photographed this sign, and it is located in Champagne in France, a whole 2,155 kilometers from Santiago.
2,173 kilometers from Pfongau near Salzburg
This sign is in Pfongau near Salzburg in Austria. Melanie Etzweiler photographed it.
2,239 kilometers from Freiburg
In the German town of Freiburg im Breisgau, right next to the border with France, you can see this sign for the Via Podiensis, the main route that leads from Germany through France. Mel Eff photographed it.
2,249 kilometers from Fernabrünst
Karin Bepunkt found this sign in the German town of Fernabrünst, between Nuremberg and Rothenburg.
2,330 kilometers from Märstetten in Switzerland
Montegazzo Outdoor found this picture. Thank you!
2,330 kilometers from Unterperfuss in Tyrol
Where this wooden sign stands between Innsbruck and St. Anton am Arlberg. Anja Wolmuth photographed it.
2,334 kilometers from Unterschwillach
Hubert writes to us: “The journey begins at home on our doorstep. I have indeed made the pilgrimage from my front door in Unterschwillach to Santiago over the years, but back by plane…!
That’s why I’ve put a shell on my driveway together with the mileage.
Buen camino!”
2,340 kilometers from Constance
The Swabian Trail begins in the German town of Constance on Lake Constance and leads through nearby Switzerland to Einsiedeln. Pilgrims pass by here every day. And people probably stand in front of this beautiful wanderlust sign every day and think to themselves: One day…
2,395 kilometers from Schweich on the Moselle Camino
This beautiful signpost is located near Schweich in Germany on the Moselle Camino, and Katrin Gebhard photographed it.
2,454 kilometers from Leipzig
Is it a sign, or is it a tree? Melanie Ettzweiler found this clue in the green lungs of Leipzig in Germany.
2,500 kilometers from Renesse
A round number, 2,500 kilometers to Santiago. This is in Rennesse in the Netherlands, and the photo was taken by Nicole Dolibog. Did she actually start there in winter?
2,500 kilometers from Hamburg
It is apparently just as far as Rennesse from the German city of Hamburg. Thomas Haul photographed this sign at St. Jakobi Church in Hamburg.
2,500 kilometers from Lübeck
Another sign with 2,500 kilometers, this time in Lübeck on the Via Baltica in Germany. Photographed by Ann-Kristin Budde.
2,500 kilometers from Giengen
And another sign with 2,500 kilometers. This one is in Germany, in Giengen an der Brenz, and together with all the others it suggests that there is occasionally good rounding.
2,577 kilometers from the Wieskirche
Michaela Makrai found this signpost in the ground just behind the Wieskirche church in Bavaria, Germany.
2,597 kilometers from the Moselle Camino
This sign is on the German Moselle Camino, which many people consider to be an insider tip. Katrin Gebhard photographed it at the Maria Engelport monastery. Is it really further to Santiago from here than from Hamburg?
2,609 kilometers from the Moselle Camino
Katrin Gebhard also photographed this sign on the German Moselle Camino, namely at the Klickerterhof.
2,743 kilometers from Randersacker near Würzburg
It is 2,743 kilometers from Randersacker near Würzburg in Germany to Santiago. The photo is from IchBinDannMalUnterwegs.
2,771 kilometers from the Goldsteig
Andrea Göb photographed this stone in the middle of the Bavarian Forest in Germany, on the Goldsteig trail.
2,800 kilometers from Freising-Vötting
This sign is located in Freising-Vötting, Germany, next to the Jakobuskirche church. It shows the route of 2,800 kilometers along the Freisinger Jakobsweg to Santiago.
2,804 kilometers from Nuremberg
In Nuremberg, Germany, at the Church of St. James, the pilgrim can decide: on the left, it’s 2,750 kilometers to Santiago, and on the right, 2,804 kilometers. Photographed by Karin Bepunkt.
2,940 kilometers from Erfurt
In Germany, more precisely in Erfurt, presumably in a garden, there is this sign indicating the 2,940-kilometer route via Constance to Santiago. Photographed by Matthias Katze.
2,971 kilometers from Berlin
This “sign” (and a similar one at Potsdamer Platz with 2968 kilometers) is located at Berlin Central Station. It was found and photographed by Kerstin Prestin.
2,990 kilometers from the Waldviertel
If you start the Austrian Way of St. James in the Waldviertel, you have 2,990 kilometers ahead of you. Photographed by Emil Palme.
3,000 kilometers from Carinthia
This distance is in Carinthia in Austria and is probably somewhat inaccurate. It was photographed by Gabriele Pogantisch.
3,250 kilometers from Denmark
Erwin Nissen discovered this sign on the German-Danish border near Flensburg, on the military road from Viborg to Hamburg.
3,400 kilometers from Greifswald
This sign is in Greifswald on the German Baltic Sea, and Burkhard Sonntag photographed it.
3,420 kilometers from Hamar
Armin Müller found this sign on the Norwegian Olafsweg near Hamar. That’s 3,420 kilometers from Norway.
3,493 kilometers from Malta
Admittedly, you first have to take a boat from Malta to Italy (following the sign), namely to Sicily, then cross the island of Sicily from south to north, then do the same with Sardinia, and from there take a boat to Barcelona. But it is still a great sign, very much in the style of Galicia, and a gift from the province of Galicia to the country and the island of Malta. Photo by Louis van Dalen.
8,013 kilometers from Rio de Janeiro
Suzanne Keesing found this sign in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Who offers more?
30 centimeters to the Camino coffee
If you see this standing in front of you, then you’re about to take your coffee break on the Camino, and the coffee is on the table in front of you.
Photo of the coffee by Kai Peter Jasny.
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And when you see this sign, you have arrived. A few more steps and you’ll be standing in the Atlantic at Finisterre. You may have arrived, and that’s as far as it goes, but somehow you’ve also arrived at the beginning of a new chapter in your life. So somehow back to square one.
Photo by Andreas Quiner.
Do you have a photo of a special signpost? Then add it to this article. You can upload it in the comments below and we’ll be happy to take it from there. Thank you!
