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Founded: 1672-1683Category: Palaces, manors and town halls in Finland
Historical period: Swedish Empire (Finland)
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Suur-Sarvilahti (Storsarvlax) three storey manor was built by the remarkable noble family Creutz. Building started in 1672 and completed 1683. After them Born family used it as a residence for the long time. The manor was damaged in the Great Wrath and renovated in 18th and 19th centuries. Borns donated Suur-Sarvilahti to Svenska kulturfonden (foundation of Swedish culture) in 1950s.
The rare baroque-style makes Suur-Sarvilahti one of the most finest manor houses in Finland. Unfortunately it’s nowadays in private use and not open to public.
The city walls of Avila were built in the 11th century to protect the citizens from the Moors. They have been well maintained throughout the centuries and are now a major tourist attraction as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors can walk around about half of the length of the walls.
The layout of the city is an even quadrilateral with a perimeter of 2,516 m. Its walls, which consist in part of stones already used in earlier constructions, have an average thickness of 3 m. Access to the city is afforded by nine gates of different periods; twin 20 m high towers, linked by a semi-circular arch, flank the oldest ones, Puerta de San Vicente and Puerta del Alcázar.