Seehof Palace was built from 1686 as a summer residence for the Bamberg Prince-Bishops from plans by Antonio Petrini. After secularization it fell into disrepair under private ownership, and by the end of the 20th century extensive renovation work was necessary.
Most of the palace is today used by the Bavarian State Conservation Office.
The nine state rooms of the restored Prince-Bishops' apartment, including the 'White Hall' with its magnificent ceiling painting by Guiseppe Appiani, are open to the public.
Among the features reflecting the splendour of the former Rococo garden are the restored cascade with its waterworks and some of the original sandstone sculptures by Ferdinand Tietz.
References: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.