Walldürn is a small town on the eastern edge of the Odenwald, where the hills of the forest give way to the open plateau of the Bauland, and the Roman frontier ran right through it. The Upper Germanic Limes followed a straight line here, and the town had a fort and a bathhouse, whose remains have been excavated and partly reconstructed. Fort Altheimer Strasse, named after the road where it was found, was one of the smaller installations along the line, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Walldürn is better known today as a pilgrimage town. Since the Middle Ages, pilgrims have come to its basilica to venerate a relic known as the Holy Blood, connected with a legend of a priest who spilled consecrated wine onto a cloth that then showed an image of Christ. The main pilgrimage takes place in the weeks after Pentecost, when the town fills with processions and visitors. The basilica, a large baroque church, dominates the town centre.
The riding in this area is very good, especially in the Odenwald. The roads that wind through the forests and valleys between Walldürn, Amorbach, Miltenberg and the Neckar are narrow, twisting and often hilly, with excellent surfaces and little traffic outside weekends. The Main valley to the north and the Neckar valley to the south offer different landscapes, with vineyards, castles and old towns. In autumn, the Odenwald is particularly beautiful, with the forests turning gold and red.
The Odenwald is a low mountain range with dense forests of beech, oak and spruce, and many legends, including that of the Nibelungs, are set here. The Bauland to the east is a more open landscape of farmland and villages, with fields of grain and orchards. The area is known for its Grünkern, green spelt harvested before it is fully ripe and then dried over a fire, used in soups and patties.
Walldürn, about four and a half kilometres away, has fuel, shops and restaurants. Buchen, a little further west, is a larger town with a charming old centre. Amorbach, to the north, has a beautiful abbey church with a famous organ. A bowl of Grünkern soup is a fitting local lunch.