Christianity
Cruz de Ferro
“The highest place, where you lay down the stone you carried”
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Scenes
Meaning
A small iron cross bears the sky at the top of a tall wooden pole, and at its feet the stones pilgrims have left behind rise into a hill.
Tradition tells that pilgrims lay down a stone carried from home at the foot of this cross, leaving their burdens and cares along with it. Standing on a pass of about 1,500 meters in the Montes de León, it is counted among the highest points of the Camino Francés.
Field notes
- Location
- Montes de León · Castile and León · N42.5° · W6.4°
- Best time
- Early morning, when first light touches the mound of stones.
- Getting there
- The pass is reached by climbing the mountain path beyond the village of Foncebadón.
- Etiquette
- Leave in place the stones and tokens other pilgrims have set down.
Sources
- · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- · UNESCO World Heritage
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