At Lóleo Eventos, Legend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada tradition has it that among the many pilgrims from Compostela who stop in Santo Domingo de la Calzada in its Camino de Santiago from Logroño to Burgos for venerate the relics of the SaintHere came a German marriage with his eighteen-year-old son named Hugonell, from Ad Sanctos (Xanten in the Diocese of Münster, but until 1821 of the Archbishopric of Cologne)
The girl at the inn where they stayed fell in love with the young Hugonell, but before the boy’s indifference, she decided to take revenge. She put a silver cup in the young man’s luggage and when the pilgrims continued on their way, the girl reported the theft to the Corregidor.
The laws of that time (Fuero de Alfonso X el Sabio) punished the crime of theft with the death penalty and once he was arrested and tried, the innocent pilgrim was hanged.
When his parents left for Santiago de Compostela, they went to see their hanged son and, when they arrived at the place where he was, they heard the voice of the son announcing that Santo Domingo de la Calzada had preserved his life. They immediately went to the house of the Mayor of the City and told him about the prodigy.
Incredulous the Corregidor replied that his son was as alive as the rooster and the chicken that he was preparing to eat.
At that precise moment the rooster and the chicken jumping from the plate and began to sing.
And from this moment the Legend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada and the famous verses are born:
In memory of this event, a live rooster and hen are kept in the Cathedral throughout the year. They are always white and come from donations from devotees of the Saint, changing the pairs every month. The rest of the time he remains in a chicken coop that the Brotherhood of Santo Domingo maintains at its registered office. Our organized trip to the Camino de Santiago recommends you not to miss the unique spectacle of seeing a chicken in a church, never seen in our days!
In front of this niche that was built around 1445 and under a Romanesque window a piece of the wood from the pilgrim’s gallows is preserved.
In the Archives of the Cathedral a document from 1350 with indulgences that 180 Bishops grant:
“To the Cathedral of La Calzada, where there is a white rooster and a hen, whom they devoutly revolve around the tomb of the Saint, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary and Glory”
Special tourist mention deserves the entire town of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, that will not leave you indifferent.
The Legend of Santo Domingo de la Calzada is not the only one in which “Un Gallo” is mentioned, in the Portuguese Way from Porto As it passes through Barcelos, we have the famous “Miracle of the Barcelos Rooster”. On the other hand in the Camino de Santiago organized from Sarria It is also the cradle of numerous myths, legends, witches and spells…
