Poyo de Roldán, hut on a hill near Nájera by Ton Van Zeijl

About "Poyo de Roldán, hut on a hill near Nájera"

by Ton Van Zeijl

About the artwork

Walking along the paths of the Camino Francés to Santiago de Compostela.

This is a hill (poyo) with its own legend: The castle of Nájera was home to a Syrian giant descended from Goliath. He fought and defeated Charlemagne's best warriors, except Roldán, who one day saw the giant from the poyo. Roldán picked up a round stone that weighed two arroba's (~22 kg) and threw it at the giant and hit him on his forehead, causing him to fall to the ground. Since that event, the hill has been called Podium or Poyo de Roldá

In spring 2024, I walked from Saint-Jean-Pied-Port in the south-west of France via Roncesvalles in the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela. A hike of about's 1000 km through the Spanish countryside with beautiful views, small villages and big cities. It is the classic pilgrimage route through Spain with a great, friendly atmosphere along the way, plenty of accommodation and delicious food. In Roncesvalles, several routes meet and you continue via Pamplona, Burgos and Léon to Santiago de Compostela.

During my walk to Santiago de Compostela, I came across many kinds of facades with doors decorated with beautiful texts, paintings and gable stones. Sometimes they were also very dilapidated. I took a series of photos's of them, some of which hang on my wall as a reminder of my inspiring journey. Now also here on Werk aan de muur, because you might want one on your wall too.