The Fürstenberg is a low hill on the edge of the Lower Rhine plain, just south of Xanten, and two thousand years ago it was one of the most important military bases in the Roman Empire. Here the Romans built Vetera, a legionary fortress that housed up to two legions and served as a springboard for campaigns into Germania under Augustus. In AD 69 and 70, during the Batavian revolt, Vetera was besieged, starved into surrender and destroyed, and a new fortress was built nearby. The site on the Fürstenberg is part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine from the Alps to the North Sea, which was added to the World Heritage list in 2021. On the ground there is little to see, mostly fields and woods, but the elevated position, with views over the river plain, explains why the Romans chose it.
Xanten, two and a half kilometres away, is a charming small town with a lot of history. The LVR Archaeological Park, on the site of the Roman city of Colonia Ulpia Traiana, has reconstructions of the city walls, a temple, an amphitheatre and houses, along with an excellent museum built over the remains of the Roman baths. The town's Gothic cathedral of St Victor is one of the finest churches on the Lower Rhine, and according to the Nibelungenlied, the hero Siegfried was born in Xanten.
The landscape of the Lower Rhine is flat and green, with wide meadows, dikes, old river arms, windmills and farms, and a big sky that changes with every shift of the weather. Wild geese spend the winter here in huge numbers, and the meadows along the river are important nature reserves. The Rhine itself is wide and busy with barges.
The riding is gentle and relaxing, on quiet roads along the dikes and through the villages, with few curves and lots of space. Wind can be strong, and rain is frequent. The roads are popular with cyclists, so share them with care. Xanten, a town of about twenty thousand people, has fuel, shops, cafes and restaurants; Alpen and Sonsbeck are smaller towns nearby. Try the Lower Rhine specialities, such as asparagus in spring, and a glass of local beer. The Dutch border is only half an hour away.