Partner
Szent Jakab Baráti Kör
The Hungarian Friends of St James, founded in 2012 out of a 2009 pilgrimage: they waymark and maintain the Camino Húngaro and Camino Benedictus, issue the Hungarian pilgrim passport and run pilgrim offices in Budapest and Szeged.
The Caminos on the map
Caminos of this partner
Camino HúngaroThe Camino Húngaro stretches 272 kilometers from the Kilometer Zero marker in Budapest, passing through the Gerecse Mountains, the Pannonhalma Archabbey, and the Romanesque St. James Church in Lébény, all the way to Wolfsthal on the Austrian border. That is where the Austrian Way of St. James begins—those who wish can continue on to Santiago without having to change routes.Explore this Camino- Camino BenedictusThe Camino Benedictus stretches 208.4 kilometers from the Benedictine Abbey of Tihany on Lake Balaton through the Bakony Mountains and past the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Pannonhalma to Rajka on the Slovak border. It connects Hungary’s three oldest monasteries—and, in Lébény, a Romanesque St. James Church dating from 1212.Explore this Camino
Who stands behind the route
The Szent Jakab Baráti Kör – roughly “Circle of Friends of St James” – began in January 2009 with a conversation among friends who had already walked in Spain: why not walk to Lébény for St James' Day, to the Romanesque church of St James from the early 13th century? In summer 2009, 52 pilgrims set off from Budapest and more than 70 arrived in Lébény. “A Szent Jakab zarándokút úgy született, hogy elindultunk rajta”, the association writes – the route was born by walking it.
Waymarking began in 2010, and that same summer a group walked on from Lébény to Wolfsthal in Austria, linking Hungary to the European network. In 2012 the non-profit association (közhasznú egyesület) was officially founded. It deliberately keeps its membership small; the work is carried by volunteers from the pilgrim community. In 2021 the association shared the Spanish Elías Valiña Prize with the St James association of Ávila.
The association's routes
Hungary has two branches of the Camino, and the Friends of St James look after both – with the same yellow shell and the same pilgrim passport. They join at Pannonhalma:
- Camino Húngaro – 272 km from the Kilometre Zero stone in Budapest via the Gerecse hills, Pannonhalma Archabbey and Lébény to Wolfsthal on the Austrian border
- Camino Benedictus – 208.4 km from the Benedictine abbey of Tihany on Lake Balaton through the Bakony via Pannonhalma and Lébény to Rajka on the Slovak border
Both routes are waymarked with the yellow scallop shell, usually on a white background and often with a yellow arrow; the point of the shell, where the ribs converge, shows the direction. Volunteer section leaders look after the signs and paths.
What the association does for pilgrims
The association issues the Hungarian pilgrim passport (Zarándokútlevél): 1,500 HUF (approx. €3.70), in person at the ZarándokZug pilgrim office in Budapest (Nyugati tér 6, Monday and Thursday 5–7 pm) or at ZarándokPont in Szeged (Wednesday 6–7:30 pm), or by post for postage from 500 HUF (approx. €1.20) (as of October 2026). It is valid on the Hungarian routes and on the Iberian Peninsula – and only with it do you get the reduced rate in pilgrim lodgings marked “Zarándokszállás”.
On arrival, the St James Visitor Centre next to the church in Lébény issues the completion certificate if your passport carries stamps from the Camino towns, including at least one from Pannonhalma. On top of that come accommodation lists, guidebooks and GPS tracks for every stage, the Camino Café – free conversation rounds for anyone with questions before their first Camino – and the St James' Day celebration on 25 July in Lébény.
Contact and getting involved
Website: szentjakabut.hu with routes, accommodation, pilgrim passport and events · Email: info@szentjakabut.hu · Pilgrim office: ZarándokZug, Nyugati tér 6, 1055 Budapest. You can help as a section leader, with shifts in the pilgrim office or with a donation. “Zarándokok vagyunk. Barátok vagyunk. Önkéntesek vagyunk.” – pilgrims, friends, volunteers: that is how the association describes itself.