The Roman frontier in Germany, the Limes, begins at the Rhine near Rheinbrohl, and a few kilometres upstream the town of Neuwied sits on the river, its district of Heddesdorf lying on the site of a Roman auxiliary fort. The fort was one of a chain of garrison posts in the Neuwied basin, a wide, fertile bowl of the Rhine valley with a mild climate, and the soldiers who lived here controlled the river crossing and the road toward the frontier. A civil settlement, a vicus, grew beside the fort, with traders, craftsmen and families. Nothing stands today above ground, because the fort lies under houses and streets, and what survives is documented in the finds in the local museum, in markers and in the street plan.
The Limes as a whole, from the Rhine to the Danube, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Upper German-Raetian Limes, and this point is a piece of that long chain. Neuwied has other claims. It was founded in the seventeenth century by a count who welcomed religious refugees, including the Moravian Brethren, who built a neat quarter with a grid of streets that still shows. Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, the founder of the cooperative banking movement, lived in Heddesdorf and died there in 1888, and a museum recalls his work.
Riding in the area is relaxed. The Rhine valley road, the B42, runs alongside the river with views of ships, castles and vineyards, though traffic can be heavy, and small lanes climb into the Westerwald, with its wooded hills, ponds and half-timbered villages. Roads are generally well maintained, with moderate bends, and fog often lies on the Rhine in autumn mornings. In summer, the Rhine flood plain can be hot and thundery. Spring, with blossom in the orchards, is pleasant.
Neuwied is a city of about sixty-seven thousand people, so fuel, workshops, restaurants and hotels are all easy to find. The Rhine promenade, with its flood defences, is a good place for a walk, and the town has a zoo and a palace, Schloss Monrepos, in the nearby woods. Try a plate of Rhenish roast beef with dumplings, or a fresh river fish. Parking in the centre is paid, and signage for low-emission zones should be checked when entering larger cities. Keep an eye out for Rhine barges at the quayside.