Why this ride
A 71 km round trip from Heidelberg - roughly 1 h 03 in the saddle. It goes by way of Speyer Cathedral, ShUM Sites of Speyer, Speyer Jewry-Court and back through ShUM Sites of Speyer.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Heidelberg afternoon · Speyer Jewry-Court
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 71 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 1 h 03
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Scenic road chapters
Castle Road
23 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it — speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 26 km
- Named road
- Castle Road
Bertha Benz Memorial Route
For 1 km this is Bertha Benz Memorial Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it. Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 1 km
- Named road
- Bertha Benz Memorial Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Heidelberg
Heidelberg is the place that German Romantics made famous and Mark Twain made funny. The Neckar comes out of its wooded valley here and slips past a steep old town, a stone bridge with a gate, and above everything the red sandstone ruins of the castle. Visitors have been climbing up to look at it since the early nineteenth century, when poets and painters arrived and decided it was the most beautiful ruin in Germany. The damage was done by French troops in the 1680s and 1690s, in a war of succession, and a lightning strike finished the job later, so it was never a romantic wreck by design.
Read the complete Heidelberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Heidelberg is where the day begins. Next is Speyer Cathedral.
2. Speyer Cathedral
Some buildings impress you with height, others with mass. Speyer Cathedral does it with both, rising from the left bank of the Rhine with six towers and a long, rhythmic nave of red sandstone. It was begun around 1030 by the emperor Conrad II, the first of the Salian dynasty, and is generally considered the largest surviving Romanesque church in the world. Its crypt, a forest of sturdy columns and striped arches, holds the tombs of several emperors and kings, which tells you how central this town once was to the Holy Roman Empire.
Read the complete Speyer Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Speyer Cathedral comes up 7 km in. Next is Speyer Cathedral.
3. Speyer Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Speyer Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
At least 19 km in you reach Speyer Cathedral. Next is ShUM Sites of Speyer.
4. ShUM Sites of Speyer
Speyer was one of the great Jewish centres of medieval Europe, and the evidence is still standing in the Judenhof, the old Jewish courtyard just behind the cathedral. In the early twelfth century a synagogue was built here, and beside it a ritual bath, the mikveh, reached by a narrow stair down into the cool, damp earth. Together with the sister communities of Worms and Mainz, the three towns formed a league known by the initials of their Hebrew names, ShUM, and UNESCO listed the sites in 2021. The bath is among the oldest and best preserved in Europe, and descending into it is a quiet, slightly chilling experience.
Read the complete ShUM Sites of Speyer write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
ShUM Sites of Speyer, about halfway. Next is Speyer Jewry-Court.
5. Speyer Jewry-Court
Speyer is known for its cathedral, a huge Romanesque church where several medieval emperors are buried, but a few hundred metres away lies a quieter site that matters just as much. The Judenhof, the Jewry Court, was the centre of the medieval Jewish community, and it contains the ruins of a synagogue from the early twelfth century and a mikveh, a ritual bath, that is generally regarded as the oldest in Europe. The mikveh is reached by steep steps down into a cool, vaulted chamber where groundwater still collects. It is a remarkable place, and the stone is beautifully worked.
Read the complete Speyer Jewry-Court write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Speyer Jewry-Court sits at 26 km, about halfway. Next is back through ShUM Sites of Speyer.
6. back through ShUM Sites of Speyer
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete ShUM Sites of Speyer write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through ShUM Sites of Speyer comes up 33 km in. Next is back through Speyer Cathedral.
7. back through Speyer Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Speyer Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
39 km in you reach back through Speyer Cathedral. Next is back through Speyer Cathedral.
8. back through Speyer Cathedral
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Speyer Cathedral write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Speyer Cathedral, late in the day. Next is Heidelberg.
9. Heidelberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Heidelberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 71 km.
Leg by leg
Heidelberg to Speyer Cathedral
Heidelberg → Speyer Cathedral is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Speyer Cathedral to Heidelberg
back through Speyer Cathedral → Heidelberg is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.