The Praza do Obradoiro ( Galician for "Square of the Workshop") is main square of the

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 St ...

old town, although not placed at the real centre. It lies to the West of the main façade of the

Santiago de Compostela cathedral The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...

, and thus the '' Pórtico da Gloria'' must be crossed to get into the building from the square. It is surrounded by four important buildings, said to represent the four powers of the city: the aforementioned

to the East (the Church),

Hostal dos Reis Católicos The Hostal dos Reis Católicos (in Galician), also called the Hostal de Los Reyes Católicos (in Spanish) or Parador de Santiago de Compostela, is a five-star Parador hotel, located in the Praza do Obradoiro of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. It is ...

(the doctors and

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

) to the North, Pazo de Raxoi (the government; after the

Spanish transition to democracy Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

was seat for the President of the Xunta of Galicia, nowadays the city council) to the West and the Colexio de San Xerome (the university) to the South. Once being crossed by cars, now is mainly pedestrian as the rest of the old town, with only traffic for taxis and (un)loading delivery lorries. The floor is decorated by eight rays starting from the center, where a plaque commemorates the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

pilgrims' way The Pilgrims' Way (also Pilgrim's Way or Pilgrims Way) is the historical route supposedly taken by pilgrims from Winchester, Hampshire, Winchester in Hampshire, England, to the shrine of Thomas Becket at Canterbury in Kent. This name, of compa ...

Camiño de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

, whose final target is around here. Plaza Do Obradoiro

Significance of the Plaza

The monumental center of

witnesses the history of an ancient city: Plaza do Obradoiro (a word that describes the work place of the craftsmen) is one of the most beautiful and renowned squares in Spain and the monumental center of the ancient city of Santiago de Compostela. It comprises several emblematic buildings of the city, spectators of exception its long history, that fuse different architectural styles of various epochs, such as

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

or Neoclassical, collecting the cultural legacy of more than 700 years of history. The buildings that delimit precisely this Square of the Obradoiro are the Palace of Rajoy, that closes for its western part just in front of the main facade of the Cathedral of Santiago (the most photographed image of the city); The Hostal de los Reyes Católicos and finally the San Jerónimo College, now the seat of the rectorate of the University of Santiago. The four emblematic buildings of this square have a meaning that transcends time and even today is fully valid. They are based on the four pillars of the Galician capital: religion, attention to the pilgrim, public administration and university education. Even today these buildings continue to perform these four functions in the day-to-day compostelano of the 21st century. The Plaza do Obradoiro also has a very deep symbolism as it is the end of the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago ( la, Peregrinatio Compostellana, "Pilgrimage of Compostela"; gl, O Camiño de Santiago), known in English as the Way of St James, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint ...

for most of the pilgrims, hundreds of kilometers behind them; The arrival box after a long trip to Santiago. Entering from Obradoiro Square to Santiago Cathedral through the Portico de la Gloria, Maestro Mateo is one of the most awaited experiences for all pilgrims, a ritual that has been fulfilled every day for hundreds of years by millions of pilgrims coming from all over the world. The Obradoiro is a place of joy and incessant hustle and bustle, both of the pilgrims who finally reach their goal and of the numerous groups that come to Santiago to visit its imposing monumental heritage. File:Santiago fonseca GDFL050914 038.jpg, (S) Colexio de San Xerome Santiago concello GDFL050914 040.jpg, (W) Pazo de Raxoi File:Santiago Hostal Obradoiro.jpg, (N)

File:Obradoiro facade - Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (5).JPG, (E)

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral The Santiago de Compostela Archcathedral Basilica (Spanish and Galician: ) is part of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela and is an integral component of the Santiago de Compostela World Heritage Site in Galicia, Spain. The c ...

References

Buildings and structures in Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela Plazas in Galicia (Spain) {{ACoruña-struct-stub