The Walls of Ávila, completed between the 11th and 14th centuries, are the

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...

s of

Ávila Ávila ( , , ) is a Spanish city located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the Province of Ávila. It lies on the right bank of the Adaja river. Located more than 1,130 m a ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and its principal historic feature. These

medieval fortification Medieval fortification refers to medieval military methods that cover the development of fortification construction and use in Europe, roughly from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the Renaissance. During this millennium, fortifications ...

s are the most complete and best preserved in all the country. The Old Town of Ávila, including the walls and its extramural churches, was declared a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1985.

Description

The work was started in 1090 but most of the

appears to have been rebuilt in the 12th century. The enclosed area is an irregular rectangle of with a perimeter of some , including 88 semicircular

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

s. The walls have an average width of and an average height of . The nine gates were completed over several different periods. The ''Puerta de San Vicente'' (Gate of St Vincent) and the ''Puerta del Alcazar'' (Gate of the Fortress) are flanked by twin towers, high, linked by a semicircular arch. The

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

of the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

also forms one of the towers. It is possible to walk upon the walls for roughly half the circumference. Whilst some of the walls will never be navigable in this way because of their integration into other structures, there is a large stretch of the walls that has yet to be made safe for pedestrians. The site was registered as a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

in 1884. In 1985, the old city of Ávila and its extramural churches were declared a

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

site by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

."Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches"
''UNESCO''. Retrieved 15 April 2012

Gallery

File:Avila 001.jpg, Walls of Ávila File:Ávila 24-8-2002.jpg, A view of the Walls of Ávila File:Avila01.jpg, Another view. File:Puerta del alcazar.jpg, Puerta del Alcazar File:Ávila. Murallas 2.JPG, Walls of Ávila. File:Avila Catedral 04 by-dpc.jpg, View of the apse from the east face of the walls. File:Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches-110632.jpg, view of Walls of Ávila

References

External links

Official audio guide in English

Old Town of Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches

Murallas (Town Walls) of Ávila
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls of Avila Buildings and structures in Ávila, Spain Avila Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in the Province of Ávila