HomeNews The passport of the pilgrim of St. James Way is also available at the Cēsis Tourism Information Center

The passport of the pilgrim of St. James Way is also available at the Cēsis Tourism Information Center

In Cēsis and the surrounding area, two of the several sections of the St. James Way or “Camino de Santiago” are made in collaboration with the Latvian Association of St. James Way in the territory of Latvia. Interested people who want to record the travel made can mark it in the pilgrim passport with a special stamp. The passport is now also available at Cēsis Tourism Information Center. Its price is EUR 3.

The pilgrim’s passport also serves as a supporting document to host at the hostels, where their owners and other entrepreneurs make stamps and register each traveler. Cēsis Tourism Information Center has created its own stamp of Way of Holiness.

In Cēsis region, the St. James Way goes along the Cīrulīši nature trails and the bends of the Gauja River, as well as includes Cēsis town. In Cēsis town, one of the stop points of the route is St. John’s Church. During the archaeological excavations, a symbol of this travel path - a shell  was found under one of the church windows. Its age dated between the 13th and 16th centuries. This archaeological find is a historical and unique, and well-preserved symbol of the Way of Holiness. This is another proof that the pilgrimage route passed the territory of Latvia already in the Middle Ages. To honor this find, a new stained glass window has been created in the upper case of the church window depicting the shell.

St. James Way is one of the most popular pilgrimage routes in the world. The destination of this travel is St. Jacob's Cathedral located in Santiago de Compostela – the city in the north of Spain. People take this path on foot, by bike, or on horseback.

The route has been created in collaboration with the Latvian Association of St. James Way. It aims to continue the road of the program of Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe “Camino de Santiago” basing on the principles of Humanism, Freedom, and Justice of the Declaration of the European Union of the year 1987 that historically unite the cultures of the countries of European Union.