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Oviedo Cathedral - No longer free to pilgrims?

StumpyDave

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Time of past OR future Camino
Norte to Primitivo 7/22. Finistère/Muxia 8/22.
Hello, Went to the Cathedral in Oviedo today. I wanted to get my stamp, but they wouldn’t let me in unless I paid the tourist entrance fee.
When I was here last year, pilgrims on the Camino were let in to the church for free to get their stamp…has this now changed?
Thanks for any insights on this.

Update from the mods: See thread #41 for an update posted on September 2, 2023
 
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I may have an explanation: free access to the Cathedral and the Camara Sancta is granted to Pilgrims who have made pilgrimage to Oviedo either on the San Salvador or the Norte as evidenced by a duly stamped Credencial. The Cathedral also issues the Salvadoriana (sp) to those who have made such a pilgrimage.

If you are commencing your journey to Santiago from Oviedo you do not qualify for either of the above. The Cathedral shop will (usually) provide you with your first sello to show where you have commenced your journey from. There is, of course, no charge if you attend Mass.
 
In some ways I find it kind of crazy to charge someone to get a stamp. Presumably they have security at the door or someone stopping people getting in for free. Why not give them the stamp. iI takes a couple of seconds to stamp a credencial. If you can get your stamp, but not get charged to enter (or maybe don't want to enter for whatever reason), then that would be a better solution.

Astorga Cathedral was the same last time I was there. Wanted to charge me to get a stamp. I had a bit of a discussion with the woman on the desk about how I didn't want to enter the museum, I just wanted a stamp for my credencial as I had pilgrim things to do. She did eventually give it me. But I already looked at the museum the year before, so pointless to do it again.

@Tincatinker Do you know if access is granted for free on days the Sudarium is available to be viewed? This won't affect me per se as I will have walked the Salvador, but for others wanting to view it this year, does it still require a tourist fee?
 
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The Sudarium is only exposed on specific holy days. I believe the details are available on the Cathedral’s website (faith is not enough, these days we need Godgle). As I said above there is no charge for attending Mass, as to other access on Holy days I’ve no personal experience.

I’m amazed that either of the Cathedrals would wish to charge a fee for a sello. I’m presuming confusion of purpose. It may be that those whose task in their employment is to sell tickets, guidebooks and souvenirs are not briefed in the roles and rituals of pilgrimage.
 
My aim is it to see it on the 21st of September. Which should be the day after I finish the Salvador.

The Sudarium is displayed for the public in Oviedo three times each year: on Good Friday, on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross (Sept. 14), and on the octave of the feast (Sept. 21).
Click to expand...
 
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Typically the person at the entrance has the stamp, so there should be no need to enter the cathedral to get it. I think there must have been some mistake or misunderstanding, unless there has been a radical change in policy.

The cathedral website lists a 4€ charge for “peregrinos con credencial.” No mention of the difference between camino Salvador and Primitivo. I remember being surprised by comments here on the forum that entrance was free for pilgrims, because I have always paid some sort of an entrance fee, at least that’s what my memory is telling me. And I have always walked into Oviedo from the Salvador, continuing on the Primitivo, so that is one data point challenging @Tincatinker’s theory, though it‘s a good one!

And btw, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the Cathedral to charge everyone an entry fee. These cathedrals are monstrosities in terms of their maintenance costs, and I would think pilgrims would be happy to contribute to their upkeep.
 
Indeed, historical sites do not take care of themselves, but must be maintained. Assumptions that the church can simply pay to maintain them suggests that people either do not understand how capital budgets work in terms of operating costs (ask anyone who has worked at a university if they could maintain the buildings for very long in the absence of tuition, never mind whether they could pay for the people who teach in them to be there, or the physical plant staff to feed and house the visitors. The analogy is apt because of the religious history for the structure of universities) -- or they are just continuing some version of hostility to their hosts. With the church funding fully 25% of the world's medical care, I don't think it is so absurd to pay a very modest fee to enter its most precious sites.
Consider that entry to a museum or gallery is likely to set one back about $20 Canadian now... and the fee to get the stamp in Oviedo includes entry to the (truly amazing) museum holdings seems a pittance.
 
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I believe that 21 Sep is the third of the 3 days in the Church year where the Sudarium is exposed. I personally hope to see it on the 14th.
However, I need to check the websites to see if the Mass that it's exposed at will be open to the public. I do remember reading that there would not be public tours on the 14th.

(Says the peregrina who found out the hard way that, on StJames day 2021, the only Masses available to the public were 0730 and then began again at 1630. All the other Masses were reserved for public officials...including the King of Spain, who attended the noon Mass. Guess when the Botafumerio swung....I saw it on live Spanish TV).
 
peregrina2000 said:
And btw, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the Cathedral to charge everyone an entry fee. These cathedrals are monstrosities in terms of their maintenance costs, and I would think pilgrims would be happy to contribute to their upkeep.
Click to expand...
I agree, and the entrance fee has always been worth it to me. On a much smaller scale when I have entered churches without cathedral or basilica status, there is often an older local person sitting near the door at a small desk or table. The usual charge for a sello and a "look around" was always €1. I'm not sure if the charge has gone up in the last few years as most smaller churches (at least on the Norte) this spring were closed.
 
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You do not need to enter the cathedral to get a stamp.
Entry is free for those who get the Salvadorana (by completing Camino de San Salvador).
 
Pathfinder075 said:
My aim is it to see it on the 21st of September. Which should be the day after I finish the Salvador.
Click to expand...
Visiting the Sudario in the room of relics is one thing. Anytime the room is open, one can visit. There is a kneeler for those who wish to venerate the relic.
Actually *seeing* the Sudario is, AFAIK, only possible when it is exposed for veneration by the faithful one day a year. (The almost 2,000 year old cloth is very delicate) I think that day is Good Friday? The Cathedral web site will tell you.
 
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Not exactly on topic, but I happened to be in Oviedo on August 15th, and walked within cathedral in the evening. It was in the hour before evening mass, so perhaps it was after museum etc had closed.. or perhaps it was the holy day. Leon cathedral have a stamp at the entrance and the last tells you to "stamp away". There is a charge to enter. After many little caminos, I heard this year of someone who was collecting Compostela getting scolded at the counter for not having 2 stamps a day. Young man has walked from Irun, to Villivicosa and onto Primitivo. He walked fast... Probably 2 or 3 stages a day, and hence had less stamps. I thought this was very unusual. Anyways, fast forward 3 weeks, and I'm checking into Oviedo Albergue again, and I got kindly reminded that I do not have enough stamps. I explained, I leave early and rarely go to cafes etc, and the stamps I have listed the places I slept. I was again reminded inneeded *2 stamps". I said I only have 1 book, and no longer collect the Compostela. I was told "it's easy to get another book". I made a joke that I find it hard enough to not lose this one, and one stamp helps me remember where I was yesterday.

My badly memorised stamps were 1. Oviedo, 2. Collindres? 3. Tineo. 4. Albergue Campa Collinsa. 5. La Mesa 6. O Fontosc...?. 7. Castroverde 8. Lugo Albergue & Cathedral (Primitivo) 9. Friol (San Roman). 10. Sobrado Da Monex (Norte) 11. Santa Irene. 12. SdC. 13. Ponferrada 14. Leon (trying to get back to Olvidado. 15. Guardo 16. Puenty Almuhey 17. Cisterna. 18. Bonar. 19. Vegacervaga 21. Pola De Gordon 22. La magdelina 23. Crazy 3 stages to Iquena Finish 24. No stamp ..car to Ponferrada, blabla to Astorga, Leon and Mieres, and onto Olviedo to find that 23 stamps isn't "as per guidelines". Grabbed a blablacar to Unquerra, and 25. Onto La Fuente which is open again and 26. Potes (Lebaniego) where Laurie, I was popped into a room with a lovely girl. So random (Sara D)... A couple of random connections and laurie if your ears were itching we both mentioned how helpful you have been over the years.
 
Texas Walker said:
Actually *seeing* the Sudario is, AFAIK, only possible when it is exposed for veneration by the faithful one day a year. (The almost 2,000 year old cloth is very delicate) I think that day is Good Friday?
Click to expand...

The Sudarium is usually on public display on three days of the year: on Good Friday, on the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross (Sept. 14), and on the octave of the feast (Sept. 21).
 
the solution is to go to one of the cafes and get stamped.
 
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So is it still free to go to mass at the cathedral or are they charging for that too?
Or do they still even do daily mass for worshippers at the Cathedral? Or is it better to go to a local church for that?

Honestly i don't mind throwing a few euros in the kitty at the cathedral, nor a few more to look around the museum, but a stamp is a basic part of pilgrimage and you shouldn't need to access the museum or main cathedral to get it. For instance, at Santander Cathedral, you go to a side door to get it (or at least I did in 2016/17). It wasn't available via the museum route when I was there, but accessing the museum with a credencial allowed cheaper access, but I threw a bit more in the donation box. It's not the money side for me. I donate when I visit these places.
 
Pafayac said:
You do not need to enter the cathedral to get a stamp.
Entry is free for those who get the Salvadorana (by completing Camino de San Salvador).
Click to expand...
Why would the cathedral deny anyone a sello in their pilgrim passport, whether walking on the Primitivo or finishing the second half of the Norte from Oviedo?
 
If Tincatinker is right, and i have no reason to question it, the question becomes can you get to the Cathedral shop ( and presumably the sello) for free, or do you pay to get there, or was the shop closed at the time?

The Cathedral's function as a sello or certificate provider is, at best, tangential to its other purposes.

On a side note. there are a number of churches/chapels/etc. that remain closed due to lack of priests and or funding both pre and post Covid (I missed out on a lot of sellos in 2021, I can assure you).

If people ask *why* the rules, or whether they were interpreted correctly, well and good (see the recent thread about rude security staff). If people *complain* about them...I would gently suggest that any pilgrim, even a Roman Catholic Spainiard (which i am not, 1 out of 2) is not the primary person the Cathedral is there to support.

If I get there and have to pay for a sello, I'm good with the transaction. I fully intend to pay for whatever tours I can manage - and attend Mass, if I can.
 
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Well, I went back this morning and very clearly saw out in front, just to the left of the big (beautiful) hand-carved wooden doors, and where you enter the queue, an admissions sign that stated €4 for peregrinos. (The admission was €7 or €8 for adults, and there were other discounts for seniors and kids.)
I got to the payment booth just inside the church, handed my credential to the lady who then took my €4, stamped the cathedral stamp in my credential, and wrote the date. I was then given access to the church (and museum.)
Every Peregrino in front of me had to do the same. There were a couple (like me the day before) that decided not to pay, turned and left.
When I went inside, I noticed there was no longer a table just inside the door (like last year when I visited) where Peregrinos could get a stamp. It seems now, the admissions booth and the stamping table, which were two separate jobs last year, have been combined. The only way you could get the stamp is if you pay the fee.

Now, I’ll back up a little bit, when I went yesterday and chose not to pay the entry fee, I remembered that one could also access an entry to the gift shop from around the far side of the cathedral to get the stamp. I decided to see if that was still the case this year. When I went around the outside of the cathedral to the gift shop entrance door, the large gate to access that entrance was closed.
Today, after I paid the fee, I (eventually) made my way to the gift shop and the entrance beyond to that door. I could go through the smaller door and access the small courtyard outside, but the same larger black metal gate I was now on the inside of from yesterday, was (still) closed and locked. It appears at the admissions booth and only after paying €4 is now the only to obtain the cathedral stamp.

Several replies have made good points regarding that the fee is small and goes to maintaining the beautiful cathedral, and I don’t disagree. Where I have trouble is the only way to get the stamp now is to pay the church for it. To me, this leaves a bad impression of the spirit of the Camino. Kind of a “pay to participate” feeling. It was disappointing.
Perhaps they could still offer the stamp for free to passing peregrinos from the admissions booth and then let them on their way without giving them access to the cathedral and museum? Just my humble opinion. Thanks everyone for your help, replies and insights!
 
StumpyDave said:
Perhaps they could still offer the stamp for free to passing peregrinos from the admissions booth and then let them on their way without giving them access to the cathedral and museum?
Click to expand...
Did you explain to the lady at the desk that you only wanted a sello and not to visit the cathedral? And she then refused you a sello unless you paid 4 euros? From your post it is not obvious whether you made that clear at the time.
 
Bradypus said:
Did you explain to the lady at the desk that you only wanted a sello and not to visit the cathedral? And she then refused you a sello unless you paid 4 euros? From your post it is not obvious whether you made that clear at the time.
Click to expand...
Yes…I made that very clear one the first day to a gentleman in the left side of the booth, then yesterday to a nice lady on the right side of the booth.
 
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StumpyDave said:
Yes…I made that very clear one the first day to a gentleman in the left side of the booth, then yesterday to a nice lady on the right side of the booth.
Click to expand...
Additionally, the first day, the gentleman on the left was even pretty disrespectful to me as I explained I only wanted the stamp, he interrupted me, shook his finger at me (side to side as to say “no no” like you would a child,) and pointed to the price admission sign taped to the window of his booth saying Peregrino €4. He was there yesterday as well which is why I avoided his window again and went to a nice lady on the right window. She explained I must pay, and I did. At least she was polite to me.
 
Camino Chrissy said:
Why would the cathedral deny anyone a sello in their pilgrim passport, whether walking on the Primitivo or finishing the second half of the Norte from Oviedo?
Click to expand...
1) you do not need to enter in order to get a stamp
2) the visit is free if you complete the Camino de San Salvador
Is that more clear ?
 
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Pafayac said:
1) you do not need to enter in order to get a stamp
Is that more clear ?
Click to expand...

Well, it was very clear that Thursday and Friday you did have to enter to get get a cathedral stamp, and you did have to pay €4.
And I wasn’t the only pilgrim that had that experience.
 
When I did the Primitivo in 2017 the Sudarium was on display in the relic room in the Cathedral museum. As I recall I did have to pay but that was for the museum as well.

The Ciudad Rodrigo Cathedral did waive the tourist fee when I asked for a sello, l so that is yet one more reason to walk the Camino Torres.
 
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@StumpyDave that’s not true

I was in cathedral San Salvador on Friday, the 11th of August: thé stamp is delivered at the entry (cash) point: you do not have to buy a ticket and enter in order to just get a stamp.
 
Pafayac said:
@StumpyDave that’s not true

I was in cathedral San Salvador on Friday, the 11th of August: thé stamp is delivered at the entry (cash) point: you do not have to buy a ticket and enter in order to just get a stamp.
Click to expand...
On both Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th it was true.
 
Thank you for this. I didn’t know about the
Thank you for this. I didn’t know about the Salvadoriana. I walked from Irun to San Vicente in 2016/17 and should be in Oviedo this Wednesday having walked from S Vicente. Hopefully I’ll qualify for the credential? Plan to stay in Amandi tomorrow. The next stage to Pola de Siero looks challenging. The albergue there will probably be full by the time I arrive. I see there’s an option at Vega de Sariego so I should be ok. Any advice from anyone on this would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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Venado said:
Plan to stay in Amandi tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Albergue La Ferreira I presume? That was my favorite albergue this year. Do you have a reservation?
Venado said:
The next stage to Pola de Siero looks challenging. The albergue there will probably be full by the time I arrive.
Click to expand...
It wasn't that bad. I left Amandi around 7 and arrived in Pola de Siero before the albergue opened at 1:30.
 
Thanks for the rapid response trecile. Yes I have a reservation at La Ferreira. I’ve seen good reports about it, mostly from Gronze. I like to walk slowly, dwadle and I’ve never started off as early as seven. I don’t get up late- just take a while to get myself organised. So, I’ll see if I can get organised the night before and leave at 7. Thanks again. (Am in a bar watching England v Spain.)
 
So there are two things going on here — the issue of cathedral entrance fee and the sello question.

I‘ve been in touch with Ender and he tells me the Cathedral has gone back and forth with their policy about charging an entrance fee for pilgrims, though he has never heard anything about there being a different policy for Salvador pilgrims, Norte pilgrims, or Primitivo pilgrims. But given the flip flopping of the official policy, he says it wouldn’t surprise him if there were inconsistency day to day, depending on who is at the desk and not depending on which camino you’ve walked.

It is obviously the case that only the Salvador pilgrims are eligible for the Salvadorana, but that’s the only differentiation he’s ever heard about.

But he was very surprised to hear there was a “charge for a sello”. He says that would be a radical change in cathedral policy. He is going to check with contacts, but he is walking now and will probably not get to it for a while.

I will post when I hear back.

p.s. I am not disputing what @StumpyDave and others have reported, just that there may be something going on that we don’t know about.
 
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The Salvadorana gives you a free visit to the cathedral.
But if you give your credencial to the cashier she stamps it without asking for money, hopefully !
I think there is here a misunderstanding.
 
Thank you for this reply and further investigation. I look forward to your next post. Thank you!
 
They let me in free after giving me my Salvadorana (also free). I remember it as a stark contrast to Leon, which didn't even gave a pilgrim discount.
 
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Ender went today with a friend who has just completed the Salvador. Attached is a picture of the “certificate.” We can’t call it the Salvadorana any more, because it isn’t limited to people who walk from León. You are also eligible if you walk the Norte to Villaviciosa and then drop down to Oviedo to start the Primitivo.

A few clarifying points.

There is no charge for a sello. Ender specifically asked if there ever had been and the answer was an emphatic no. That means, I think, that there must have been some huge misunderstanding, maybe because of language, but in any event, this is the official practice.

There is no charge for the certificate (1 € charge for the canuto — the tube).

In spite of what the sign says (charging 4 € for pilgrim entrance to the cathedral), this pilgrim was given free entrance.
 

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peregrina2000 said:
In spite of what the sign says (charging 4 € for pilgrim entrance to the cathedral), this pilgrim was given free entrance.
Click to expand...
Yes, but you write before "a friend who has just completed the Salvador".
What about pilgrims who neither has completed the Salvador, nor walking the Norte to Oviedo ?
 
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Pafayac said:
Yes, but you write before "a friend who has just completed the Salvador".
What about pilgrims who neither has completed the Salvador, nor walking the Norte to Oviedo ?
Click to expand...
I don’t know about that, but I think that since it’s a question of 4€, I’m not going to ask Ender to go back and test it. Since the sign says that the price for pilgrims is 4€, I think we should be prepared to pay and then some or many pilgrims will be pleasantly surprised when they are given free entry.
 
Pafayac said:
Yes, but you write before "a friend who has just completed the Salvador".
What about pilgrims who neither has completed the Salvador, nor walking the Norte to Oviedo ?
Click to expand...
I think the posted pilgrim fee is for pilgrims who start their Caminos in Oviedo but it is waived for pilgrims who walk there as a destination (e.g. on the San Salvador). At least, that was my experience. I was, as described above, pleasantly surprised when I was given free entrance. Heck, I was pleasantly surprised that the Salvadorana was free.
 
Well, I’ll tell you my experience. When I arrived at the cathedral on 23/8 having walked via Villaviciosa I was invited to come out of the queue to get a stamp. The man who invited me was to the left of the queue, standing next to a table. He was very helpful and friendly, said I could have a quick look around if I wanted to, went away and got me some information on the pilgrim mass which is in the church behind the cathedral in the evening and told me there was mass at 9.15am in a chapel in the cathedral. (If someone really wanted free entrance you just come at 9.15, the ticket office isn’t open but the door on the left is. I went to the mass then had a good look around after. I came back the next day and paid the 4 euro pilgrim entry price, this includes a download of an app which is a multilingual guide to the cathedral and very good.)

When the man stamped my fully stamped credential, first stamped in Irún he commented that I had a very nice credential. I asked him what the stack of certificates on the table were for and he said they were for people who had walked from Leon. So I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get one now as you say it isn’t limited to people who walk from Leon. My plan is to go back next year and try the Primitivo - Maybe I‘ll bring my credencial and ask for the certifícate.
 
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If you have the time, I highly recommend the San Salvador as a prelude to the Primitivo. It is a wonderful little Camino, both in its own right and as an appetizer for the Primitivo. (If you do, make sure you stop at the albergue in Bendueños.) It will leave you perfectly placed to start the Primitivo and there can be no question of your having earned the Salvadorana.
 
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