Travel from Madrid to Avila. City of Knights and Saints

Ávila is a city in Spain and the capital of the province of the same name in the autonomous community of Castilla y Leon. It is located in the highlands near the river Adaho, 100 km from Madrid.

It is worth visiting Avila, if only because the city is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List (1985). Its historical part is surrounded by a powerful fortress wall of the XI century, 2.5 km long, in which there are 88 bastions and 9 gates. This is the only defensive structure in Europe of the Romanesque period (X-XII centuries) preserved entirely. It was built by order of the king of Castile Alfonso VI c. 1088-1091. The immediate executor of the royal will was Count Raimundo of Burgundy. For several centuries, the city was a “knightly” barracks, as recalled by the numerous palaces of the nobility. Avila became famous throughout the Christian world as the birthplace and ministry of St. Teresa (1515-1582). She was born into a family of baptized Jews and at the age of 18 was sent to a monastery. Staying in the monastery prompted the future Saint to think about the need to reform the order. She devoted her whole life to this task. God supported Sister Teresa’s undertaking and with his help the nun achieved much. She managed to found an order of mendicant (barefoot) Carmelites and many monasteries of the new congregation. The house where St. Teresa was born; the cell in which she spent most of her life; the first monastery she founded; and even the Holy Finger are all in Avila. It is not surprising that since the XVI century the city has become an unofficial place of pilgrimage for believers. It is the power of the written word: Saint Teresa was a talented writer. Avila is the highest located "capital" city of Spain (1131 m above sea level). The exhausting summer heat is rare here, but in winter it is quite cold. The view of Avila's walls in the snow is surprisingly romantic. Avila's average temperatures are 11.5 °C, with absolute lows in December: up to -17 °C and highs in July. The average daily temperature of this summer month is 19.7 °C. The annual rate of precipitation varies within 400 mm, and an umbrella in Avila is rarely needed. The intensity of precipitation increases between October and March. In June-September, it rains so little that the Adaho River dries up. Avila is one of the oldest cities in Spain. Legends ascribe the honor of its foundation to the ancient hero Hercules. Archaeologists believe that the settlement appeared thanks to the Celtiberians who inhabited this part of the Iberian Peninsula long before the birth of Christ. In the first century AD, the first bishop, Saint Segundo, appeared in Avila. He spread Christianity here. After his death, the preacher received a new appointment: San Segundo became the heavenly patron of the city. After 700 years, Avila fell into the hands of the Arab conquerors, but at the end of the XI century. the king of Castile conquered it. The city became an outpost of the Reconquista, and a new defensive wall was erected on the foundation of the Roman fortress. In 1515, Teresa de Cepeda y Aumada was born here, who was to reform the Carmelite Order, found many monasteries, and after her death find Holiness. At the same time, the city began to get out from behind the city wall. Over time, the number of residents in the historic part of the city has greatly decreased. In the XIX century, the authorities of Avila intended to demolish the ring of fortress walls, but did not find money for this. But now the wall has become the object that attracts many tourists to the city.