Linz day out · Wallsee - Kleinkastell

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Linz

   Linz sits on the Danube like a working city that has learned to dress for dinner. For most of the twentieth century it was an industrial town, famous for its steelworks and chemical plants, and for being the place people drove through on the way to somewhere better. Then it reinvented itself as a centre of media art, with the Ars Electronica Center on the north bank and a string of modern buildings along the river, and in 2009 it was a European Capital of Culture. About two hundred thousand people live here, making it the third city of Austria.

   Read the complete Linz write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Linz is where the day begins. Next is Schlögen - Kastell.

2. 2. Schlögen - Kastell

   The Danube here performs one of its most famous tricks. Forced by hard granite, the river makes two tight hairpin turns, the Schlögener Schlinge, doubling back on itself in a loop so neat it looks drawn with a compass. From the viewpoint on the wooded slope above, a short walk from the road, you look down on the river curling around a forested spur, and it is one of the classic images of Upper Austria.

   Read the complete Schlögen - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Schlögen - Kastell comes up about 39 km into the recorded legs. Next is Schlögen - Vicus.

3. 3. Schlögen - Vicus

   The Danube does something remarkable at Schlögen. Forced by hard granite, the river makes a tight double hairpin, the Schlögener Schlinge, turning back on itself twice in a deep, wooded valley in Upper Austria, and the view of it from above is one of the most famous in the country. A short walk from the river up through the forest leads to the Schlögener Blick viewpoint, where you can see the river coiling below like a green-brown snake between steep slopes.

   Read the complete Schlögen - Vicus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Schlögen - Vicus. Next is Wallsee - Kastell.

4. 4. Wallsee - Kastell

   Wallsee is one of those Danube villages that people cycle through on the long riverside path without guessing how much history sits under their tyres. A castle rises on a rock above the river, and beneath and around the village lie the remains of a Roman fort that guarded this stretch of the Danube frontier. It is part of the Danube Limes World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2021, which follows the river from Bavaria through Austria to Slovakia, a line of forts, watchtowers and towns that held the northern edge of the empire for centuries.

   Read the complete Wallsee - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Wallsee - Kastell, about halfway. Next is Wallsee - Kleinkastell.

5. 5. Wallsee - Kleinkastell

   Wallsee is the kind of Danube town you only notice if you slow down: a market square, a big castle on a rock above the river, and a long, quiet waterfront where the cycle path runs past willows and moored boats. Beneath the streets lie the remains of a small Roman fort, one of the posts that lined the river frontier of the province of Noricum, and archaeologists have also traced a larger fort nearby. Both are part of the Danube Limes World Heritage listing inscribed in 2021, though above ground the medieval and Baroque town has long since taken over.

   Read the complete Wallsee - Kleinkastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Wallsee - Kleinkastell sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Wallsee - Kastell.

6. 6. back through Wallsee - Kastell

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Wallsee - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Wallsee - Kastell comes up about 138 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Schlögen - Vicus.

7. 7. back through Schlögen - Vicus

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Schlögen - Vicus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 233 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Schlögen - Vicus. Next is back through Schlögen - Kastell.

8. 8. back through Schlögen - Kastell

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Schlögen - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Schlögen - Kastell, late in the day. Next is Linz.

9. 9. Linz

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Linz 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 271 km.