The Lesser Poland Way is one of the Polish routes of the Way of St. James, a medieval pilgrimage route to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of S ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. It runs from

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

through the Lesser Poland Voivodeship and the Świętokrzyskie Voivodship. It is an alternative path of the main

Via Regia The Via Regia (Royal Highway) is a European Cultural Route following the route of the historic road of the Middle Ages. There were many such ''viae regiae'' associated with the king in the medieval Holy Roman Empire. History Origins The V ...

that in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

ran from

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

through

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

, Grodno and Lublin. The Lesser Poland Way was partially reopened on 25 October 2008. The whole route was reopened on 25 October 2009. (in Polish) another feeder route ran from

Tarnobrzeg Tarnobrzeg is a city in south-eastern Poland (historic Lesser Poland), on the east bank of the river Vistula, with 49,419 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Polish: ''Województwo podkarpackie'') sinc ...

The route

The traditional starting point in Sandomierz was the Dominican

Church of St. James in Sandomierz The Church of St. James in Sandomierz, also known as the Shrine of Blessed Sadok and 48 Dominican martyrs, Monastery of Dominicans (Convent of St. James), Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary, is one of the oldest brick churches in Poland (and proba ...

, Sanctuary of blessed Sadok and 48 Dominican martyrs. The aim was to pass towns or villages with churches dedicated to the Apostle James, stopping at Kraków, where there is no St. James' church, before joining other international routes.

Places with St. James church

Between Sandomierz and Kraków there are four places with a St. James' church: * Szczaworyż at distance:31 km * Pałecznica, distance: 25 km * Niegardów, distance: 19 km * Stare Więcławice, distance: 20 km

Santiago de Compostela

From

it is possible to go Santiago by two initial routes. Either using the

through Opole and

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

onto

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The alternative is through

Oświęcim Oświęcim (; german: Auschwitz ; yi, אָשפּיצין, Oshpitzin) is a city in the Lesser Poland ( pl, Małopolska) province of southern Poland, situated southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (''Wisła'') and Soła rive ...

Żory Żory (; german: Sohrau, szl, Żory) is a town and city county in Silesian Voivodeship, Poland with 62,462 inhabitants (2019). Previously it was in Katowice Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is located in the historic Upper Silesia region about sou ...

and

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being ...

then onto the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

Gallery

File:Muszla Jakuba.svg, The modern symbol of the way File:Sandomierz św. Jakub.JPG, Sandomierz File:Muszla Jakubowa w Sandomierzu.JPG, at St. James Church in Sandomierz File:Klimontow kosciol.jpg, Klimontów File:JRKRUK 20070513 PL SZCZAWORYZ KOSCIOL S.jpg, Szczaworyż File:Św jakub.jpg, Skalbmierz File:POL gmina Pałecznica COA.jpg, Pałecznica File:Niegardow X 2008.jpg, Niegardów File:JKRUK 20070920 WIECLAWICE STARE KOSCIOL SEside.jpg, Więcławice File:Tyniec.jpg, Kraków - Tyniec File:Opatowiec church 20060624 0912.jpg, Opatowiec File:Koprzywnica church.jpg, Koprzywnica

References

External links

* Online route map
link

details for French and Lithuanian pilgrims

News in English 2009in English 2008

Sandomierz

Więcławice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lesser Poland Way Camino de Santiago Lesser Poland Hiking trails in Poland European Cultural Routes Hiking trails in Europe Pilgrimage routes