Santiago de Compostela (Saint James of Compostela) is the capital of the autonomous region of Galicia. The city's Cathedral has been the destination of the pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James, since the 9th century. According to early Christian church tradition, Apostle James (James the Great) found his way to the Iberian Peninsula and preached in Galicia. Later on he decided to return to the Holy Land and was beheaded there. His disciples got his body and they buried him in Galicia.