Wingertsberg is a low hill on the western edge of the Vogelsberg, near the small town of Hungen in Hesse, and the Roman fortlet that stood here was one of a series of small outposts along the Wetterau Limes. A fortlet held perhaps a few dozen men, enough to watch the line and signal to the main forts. Little survives above ground, so the interest lies mostly in knowing that the frontier ran here, across fields that are now ploughed in neat rows and crossed by farm tracks and cycle paths.
The landscape is an easy one. Hungen sits in the Horloff valley, in gently rolling farmland of wheat and sugar beet, with beech woods on the higher ground and an old castle, now a cultural centre, at the heart of the town. Behind it to the east, the Vogelsberg rises, a huge extinct volcanic massif of basalt that is one of the largest in Central Europe. The slopes are green and rounded, with forests and cattle pastures, and the villages are low and quiet, built of dark volcanic stone and half-timbering. In spring the meadows fill with yellow and the streams run clear.
For a rider the Vogelsberg is a pleasant surprise. It lacks the famous passes of the Alps, but it has a network of narrow, quiet roads that wind in long loops over the hills, with gentle gradients, good views and very little traffic. On warm weekends it is popular with motorcyclists from the Rhine-Main region, and the villages often have a Gasthof that is used to leathers at the door. The surface varies, with the occasional rough patch on the minor roads, and winter frost can last well into spring on the higher ground.
Hungen has fuel, supermarkets and several bakeries, with Berstadt and Wohnbach offering quieter stops. Come on a weekday in May or September, when the roads are empty and the light is soft over the plain, and treat the fortlet as a reason to slow down and look around rather than a destination in its own right.