Partner
Nederlands Genootschap van Sint Jacob
The Dutch St James association based in Utrecht: since 1986 it has described the Ways of St James through the Netherlands, publishes guides and GPS tracks and supports pilgrims in its regions – with around 14,500 members.
The Caminos on the map
Caminos of this partner
Jacobsweg ThuredrechtThe Jacobsweg Thuredrecht runs 172.9 kilometers from Schipluiden near Delft via Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Bergen op Zoom to Antwerp, straight across the Dutch delta and over the Belgian border. It carries the medieval name of Dordrecht, where in 1348 a confraternity of men back from Santiago built their pilgrim hostel. With 259 meters of climbing over the entire route and a high point of 22 meters on the Brabantse Wal, it is about the flattest route to a great city of St. James you can imagine. It is not waymarked; you walk with a guidebook and a GPS track.Explore this Camino- Jacobsweg Die HagheThe Jacobsweg Die Haghe runs 232 kilometers from the Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem through the bulb fields, past Leiden, The Hague and Delft to the mouth of the Maas, then across four dams of the Delta Works into Zeeland and by ferry over the Westerschelde into Flanders, all the way to Bruges. It takes its name from the old spelling of The Hague, whose Grote Kerk was dedicated to St. James. Along the way are three churches of St. James, in The Hague, Vlissingen and Bruges, plus Brielle, the only living place of pilgrimage on the route. The whole way adds up to just 279 meters of ascent, and the highest point, at 10 meters, is the finish in Bruges.Explore this Camino
- Jacobsweg Amsvorde275.9 kilometres with 352 metres of ascent from Hasselt in Overijssel to Kapellen just outside Antwerp: the western branch of the Dutch Jacobswegen from Hasselt, named after an old form of the name Amersfoort. Along the edge of the Veluwe and the old Zuiderzee via Hattem, Elburg and Harderwijk, then Amersfoort, Utrecht, the Lek, the Biesbosch, Breda, Zundert and the Kalmthoutse Heide — with four Hanseatic towns, three of the country's tallest church towers, the oldest dedication to St James in the Netherlands and a tower from which an entire country measures itself. Highest point 45 metres, a railway station at almost every stage end, no hostel network.Explore this Camino
- Jacobsweg AmstelredamThe Jacobsweg Amstelredam runs 389.1 kilometers from the Afsluitdijk at Den Oever right across the Netherlands to Roermond on the Maas. Along the way lie the dunes and polders of North Holland, Haarlem, Amsterdam with the site of the Sint-Jacobskapel of 1435, the Vecht, Utrecht, the rivers Lek, Waal and Maas, 's-Hertogenbosch and the sandy soils of the Kempen. The route is described, not waymarked throughout, and has a total of just 458 meters of ascent. At the finish, the Sint-Christoffelkathedraal holds an arm relic of the Apostle James.Explore this Camino
- Jacobsweg Nieumeghen207.2 kilometres with 416 metres of elevation from Hasselt in Overijssel to 's-Hertogenbosch: the eastern branch of the Dutch Jacobswegen from Hasselt, named after the old spelling of Nijmegen. Along the IJssel through four Hanseatic towns, over the bridges of Arnhem and Nijmegen, past the Maas into Brabant — with Geert Grote's Deventer, the mother house of Windesheim, the shrine of Thomas a Kempis in Zwolle, the Jacobsgasthuis of 1438 in Nijmegen and the scallop shells dug from the soil of Den Bosch. A guidebook way, not a signpost way: thinly waymarked, without a hostel network, but with a railway station at every stage end.Explore this Camino
- Jacobspad GroningenFrom the Jacobus de Meerdere Church in Uithuizen to the Hanseatic city of Hasselt: a good 206 kilometers along ancient pilgrimage routes through Groningen, Drenthe, and Overijssel—the northernmost Way of St. James in the Netherlands, opened in 2008 and marked with the scallop shell. Four churches along the route are dedicated to St. James; behind one of them stand two Neolithic megalithic tombs—and in Hasselt, the Dutch pilgrimage network continues toward Antwerp or Maastricht.Explore this Camino
Who stands behind the route
The Nederlands Genootschap van Sint Jacob was founded on 25 July 1986 – the Apostle's feast day – after one of its founders had walked to Santiago for the first time the year before. At first it was linked to its Flemish sister association and read its magazine “De Pelgrim”; in 1989 it became independent. In 2011 it welcomed its ten-thousandth member, today there are around 14,500, and the association rightly calls itself “wereldwijd de grootste Jacobsvereniging” – the largest St James association in the world, carried by around 400 volunteers. In 2026 the association turns forty.
Its aim is to broaden and deepen interest in the pilgrimage to Santiago: practically, with advice on routes and accommodation, and historically, by researching the art-historical, cultural and social aspects of the pilgrimage. The heart of the association is its regions – that is where pilgrims meet each other, at get-togethers, pilgrim days and stage walks.
The association's routes
- Jacobspad Groningen – around 206 km from Uithuizen on the Groningen coast to Hasselt in Overijssel; with the Genootschap since 2025
- Jacobsweg Amsvorde – 275.9 km from Hasselt via Amersfoort and Utrecht to Kapellen near Antwerp
- Jacobsweg Nieumeghen – 207.2 km from Hasselt via the Veluwezoom to ’s-Hertogenbosch
- Jacobsweg Amstelredam – 389.1 km from the Afsluitdijk at Den Oever via Amsterdam to Roermond on the Meuse
- Jacobsweg Die Haghe – 232.0 km from Haarlem via The Hague and Vlissingen to Bruges
- Jacobsweg Thuredrecht – 172.9 km from Schipluiden in Midden-Delfland to Antwerp
What the association does for pilgrims
The Werkgroep Jacobswegen describes the routes: its two-volume guide “Jacobswegen in Nederland” covers sixty stages from every corner of the country, and free GPS tracks come on top. The routes are not waymarked continuously everywhere; where possible the association works with municipalities, Wandelnet and the regional route offices, and in some regions volunteers check the signs several times a year.
Pilgrims can get a pilgrim passport, advice and support before setting off from the association. In Sint Jacobiparochie in Friesland, where the Way begins for many Dutch pilgrims, the Genootschap has set up an information centre in the Groate Kerk; there are also working groups on history and culture, cycling and young pilgrims, and international contacts with the sister associations in Flanders and Wallonia.
Contact and getting involved
Website: santiago.nl (in Dutch) with routes, regions, events and membership. You can get involved as a member, in a region or in one of the working groups.