The largest Roman cavalry fort north of the Alps stood on the site of today's Aalen, in the eastern Swabian Jura. It was home to a regiment of a thousand horsemen, the ala II Flavia, the most prestigious cavalry unit on the Raetian frontier, and its walls enclosed a huge area, with barracks, stables, granaries and a headquarters building. Beside it grew a civilian settlement, with traders, craftsmen and families. Today the site is home to the Limesmuseum Aalen, one of the most important museums of the Roman frontier in Germany, with excavated foundations, reconstructions and a rich collection of finds. It is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage site.
The museum is excellent, with displays about the soldiers, their horses, their equipment and their daily life, and outside in the archaeological park you can walk among the remains of the headquarters and see a reconstructed section of the barracks. In summer, Roman festivals bring re-enactors in armour and costume.
Aalen is a lively town at the edge of the Swabian Jura, the Schwäbische Alb, a limestone plateau that runs across southern Germany. Its old town has half-timbered houses and a market square. Nearby, the Tiefer Stollen is an old iron ore mine that you can visit by mine train, and part of it is used for therapy for respiratory conditions. Oberkochen, just south, is home to the optics company Zeiss.
The riding is excellent. The Swabian Jura is one of the best riding areas in southern Germany, with winding roads through valleys and over the plateau, past castles, caves and small towns. The roads around the Kocher and Brenz valleys, and towards Heidenheim and Schwäbisch Gmünd, are particularly good, with many bends and varied scenery. The Albtrauf, the steep escarpment along the northern edge of the plateau, offers dramatic climbs and views. Traffic is moderate, and surfaces are generally good, but watch for farm vehicles, cyclists and speed cameras.
Aalen has fuel, shops and restaurants. Try Swabian specialties: Maultaschen, large pasta pockets filled with meat and spinach, or Käsespätzle, egg noodles with cheese and fried onions. The weather on the Alb is cooler and windier than in the lowlands, with snow in winter. Spring and autumn are the best seasons for riding.