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Founded: 1765-1767Category: Religious sites in Sweden
Historical period: The Age of Liberty (Sweden)
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St. Olaf's Church (Sankt Olai kyrka) was built betw 1765-1767 to the site of earlier church, which was badly damaged during the attack of Russian army in 1719. The altarpiece is painted by Pehr Hörberg in 1797.
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.