Way of St James in Nysa

A shell on a blue background and a yellow arrow point the way from Nysa to Santiago de Compostela – the apostle's tomb is a very long way off, but every stretch of the Way of St James belongs to the same European network. Through Nysa runs the Nysa Way of St James, opened in 2010, and one of its key stops is the Basilica of St James and St Agnes.

The road to Santiago

According to tradition, the body of St James the Greater lies in Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. From the 9th century the shrine drew pilgrims from all over Europe and rivalled Rome and Jerusalem in importance. In 1987 the Council of Europe declared the Way of St James the first European Cultural Route, and in 1993 the Spanish route was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. In Poland the first revived sections appeared in 2005. All the routes are marked with the scallop shell of St James and yellow arrows.

The Nysa Way of St James

The route was officially opened in 2010 during the annual St James Fair in Nysa. According to the regional tourism organisation it is 106 km long and follows an old trade route; the St James parish gives about 160 km. The route:

• starts at St James' Spring (Jakubowa Studnia) on the slope of Parkowa Hill in Głuchołazy, in the Opava Mountains,
• passes through Bodzanów with its Oblate monastery and Biskupów, home to one of only four Benedictine monasteries in Poland,
• reaches the Basilica of St James and St Agnes in Nysa, a national Monument of History,
• continues via Pakosławice, Kopice and Lewin Brzeski to Skorogoszcz and its church of St James, where it joins the Via Regia Way of St James running along the Oder.

Pilgrim or hiker

The Way of St James is meant for individual pilgrims and small groups of any faith or nationality. Pilgrims carry a credencial – a pilgrim passport in which they collect stamps from churches along the way; in Santiago it is the basis for a certificate confirming the journey. A guidebook and a brochure with route descriptions and maps have been published for the Nysa route.

Tripto tip

For a first try, choose the stretch from Głuchołazy to Nysa – it starts at a spring in the hills and ends at a basilica listed as a Monument of History. Information on accommodation and food along the route is available at the tourist information point in St Hedwig's Bastion in Nysa, and details of the trail itself from the parish office and the Nysa Way of St James office at ul. Bracka 18. Plan stages you can realistically walk in a day, and watch the waymarks at junctions.