Logbook · 30 places

Botafumeiro

Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, A Coruña

1 Villages · 12 Monuments · 6 Nature · 3 Activities · 7 Curiosities · 1 Historical milestones

Spain › Galicia › A Coruña › Santiago › Santiago de Compostela › Botafumeiro

Botafumeiro

Curiosity · Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, A Coruña

The botafumeiro, forged in 1851 by the Compostela silversmith Xosé Losada, is one of the most popular symbols of the cathedral of Santiago. Empty it weighs 62 kilos, a weight it reached in 2006 when a silver plating was added during a restoration led by Luis Molina Acedo. It is filled with about 400 grams of charcoal and incense and hangs from a 65-metre synthetic rope which, by means of a system of pulleys, allows eight men called tiraboleiros to swing it across the transept of the cathedral, from the Azabachería door to the Platerías door, reaching a height of 21 metres and a speed of 68 km/h after seventeen complete passes. The rope has come loose on three documented occasions, in 1499, 1622 and 1937, without causing casualties.

Photo: Luis Miguel Bugallo Sánchez (Lmbuga Commons)(Lmbuga Galipedia) (CC BY-SA 3.0)

What to see and do in Santiago de Compostela