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TheLesser Poland Way is one of thePolish routes of theWay of St. James, a medieval pilgrimage route toSantiago de Compostela inSpain. It runs fromSandomierz toKraków through theLesser Poland Voivodeship and theŚwiętokrzyskie Voivodship. It is an alternative path of the mainVia Regia that in theMiddle Ages ran fromEstonia throughVilnius,Grodno andLublin. The Lesser Poland Way was partially reopened on 25 October 2008. The whole route was reopened on 25 October 2009.[1] Another feeder route ran fromTarnobrzeg.
The traditional starting point in Sandomierz was the DominicanChurch of St. James in Sandomierz,Sanctuary of blessed Sadok and 48 Dominican martyrs. The aim was to pass towns or villages with churches dedicated to theApostle James, stopping at Kraków, where there is no St. James' church, before joining other international routes.
Between Sandomierz and Kraków there are four places with a St. James' church:
FromKraków it is possible to go to Santiago by two initial routes. Either using theVia Regia throughOpole andWrocław ontoGermany. The alternative is throughOświęcim,Żory andRacibórz then onto theCzech Republic.
