European Pilgrimage Route Network

Timeline

1. c. 1000–1200France–Pyrenees–Galicia corridor · FranceIn the 11th–12th centuries the main route of the Way of St. James (Camino Francés) and the Via Francigena took shape; documents such as the Codex Calixtinus provided pilgrims with guidance on relay stations, water sources, and routes, and Hospitaller orders set up stations along the way.
2. 1200–1400Directions of Rome and Jerusalem · RomeIn the 13th–14th centuries papal jubilee years and indulgence systems spurred pilgrimage booms; the Via Francigena, the composite route via Rome to Brindisi and by sea to Jerusalem, and the Santiago branches formed a network covering Western Europe.
3. 1401–1410French section of the Way of St. James and Burgundy · BurgundyBetween 1401 and 1410 the Way of St. James and the Via Francigena still regularly carried pilgrims from France, Germany, and England; Hospitaller orders and towns along the routes maintained relay stations, bridges, and waymarks, and passage records for the Burgundy and Navarre sections survive.
4. 1414–1418Constance · ConstanceThe Council of Constance (1414–1418) drew large numbers of clergy, envoys, and believers who converged by land, overlapping with the existing pilgrimage route network and temporarily expanding its capacity, showing the system still had strong carrying power in the early 15th century.
5. 1500–1600Western Europe · Western EuropeThe 16th-century Reformation weakened the motives of indulgences and inter-parish pilgrimage, and some routes fell into disuse; with the rise of modern roads and railways, traditional pilgrimage passages became cultural heritage and hiking routes.