Ellingen is a small town that punches well above its weight. Its centre is dominated by a vast baroque palace built by the Teutonic Order, the German crusading knights who later became a religious and administrative order, and who ran a commandery here for centuries. The palace, with its church, courtyards and gardens, is far grander than you would expect in such a small place. Just outside the town, the Romans had an earlier presence: a fort called Sablonetum stood here on the Raetian Limes, with a civil settlement beside it, guarding the frontier as it crossed the countryside north of Weißenburg. Its outline has been marked in the fields, and it is part of the World Heritage site of the Upper German-Raetian Limes.
Weißenburg, a few kilometres south, was a major Roman centre. The fort of Biriciana has a reconstructed north gate, and the remains of large Roman baths are protected under a modern roof. In 1979, a gardener digging in Weißenburg found a hoard of Roman treasure, including statuettes of gods, which is now displayed in the town's Roman museum. The medieval town, with its walls and gates, and the Wülzburg fortress on a hill above, add to the appeal.
The riding here is relaxed and scenic. The roads around Ellingen and Weißenburg run through gentle hills, fields and forests, with good surfaces and light traffic. To the north and west, the Franconian Lake District, with the Altmühlsee and the Brombachsee, offers lakeside roads and summer swimming. To the south, the Altmühl valley and the Franconian Jura provide more dramatic scenery, with limestone cliffs, juniper heaths and winding roads. Weekends bring more traffic, especially around the lakes.
Ellingen has a few cafés, inns and shops, and Weißenburg, about four kilometres away, has fuel, restaurants and supermarkets. Ellingen also has a well-known brewery, and Franconia has more breweries per head than almost anywhere in the world, so if you are finished for the day, a local beer is a must, preferably with a plate of sausages or roast pork. Visit the palace, look at the Roman fort outline, and then ride to Weißenburg to see the baths and the reconstructed gate. It is a rich slice of history in a small area.