Why this ride
From Enns it runs 286 km to Enns; allow about 4 h 24 of riding. It goes by way of Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm, Schlögen - Kastell, Passau Haibach - Burgus and Schlögen - Vicus. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Albing - Legionslager and Schlögen - Vicus
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 286 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 24
- 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
Schlögen - Kastell → Passau Haibach - Burgus
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 43 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 43 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Albing - Legionslager
There is almost nothing to see at Albing, and that is exactly what makes it a good story. Under these fields near the confluence of the Enns and the Danube lay one of the largest Roman military bases ever built in what is now Austria, a full legionary fortress raised in the later second century, around the time of the Marcomannic Wars, when Rome was fighting hard to hold the Danube against peoples from the north. It was planned on a grand scale and then, it seems, given up very soon after, probably because the site was too exposed to floods. The legion moved a few kilometres south to Lauriacum, the camp at today's Enns.
Read the complete Albing - Legionslager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Albing - Legionslager is where the day begins. Next is Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.
2. Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Just west of Linz, the Danube narrows and the steep, wooded slopes of the Kürnberger Wald rise from its southern bank. In the Roman period this river was the frontier of the empire, and the soldiers who guarded it built a chain of forts and watchtowers along the bank to watch for raiders crossing from the north. The Hirschleitengraben watchtower is one of these, a small Roman tower in a side ravine of the forest, part of the Danube Limes, which UNESCO listed in 2021 as one of the great frontiers of the Roman Empire. Its remains are modest, but the position, looking over the river toward Puchenau and the hills of the Mühlviertel, makes the purpose clear.
Read the complete Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm comes up 40 km in. Next is Schlögen - Kastell.
3. 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
81 km in you reach Schlögen - Kastell. Next is Passau Haibach - Burgus.
4. Passau Haibach - Burgus
Passau sits where three rivers meet, the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz, and from the high point of the Oberhaus fortress you can see their colours run side by side before mixing: green from the Inn, blue-grey from the Danube, and dark from the Ilz, which flows down from the Bavarian Forest stained by peat. The Romans knew this spot well. They had a fort here called Batavis, named after a unit of Batavian soldiers from the Rhine delta, and another at Boiotro across the Inn, and along the Danube downstream they built small fortified towers called burgi to watch the river and signal to each other. One of these late Roman burgi stood near Haibach, and its remains are part of the Danube Limes, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021 as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Passau Haibach - Burgus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Passau Haibach - Burgus, about halfway. Next is Schlögen - Vicus.
5. 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
Schlögen - Vicus sits at 161 km, about halfway. Next is back through Passau Haibach - Burgus.
6. back through Passau Haibach - Burgus
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Passau Haibach - Burgus write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Passau Haibach - Burgus comes up 201 km in. Next is back through Schlögen - Kastell.
7. 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
242 km in you reach back through Schlögen - Kastell. Next is back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.
8. back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm, late in the day. Next is Albing - Legionslager.
9. Albing - Legionslager
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Albing - Legionslager 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 286 km.
Leg by leg
Albing - Legionslager to Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Albing - Legionslager → Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm to Schlögen - Kastell
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm → Schlögen - Kastell is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Schlögen - Kastell to Passau Haibach - Burgus
Schlögen - Kastell → Passau Haibach - Burgus is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Passau Haibach - Burgus to Schlögen - Vicus
Passau Haibach - Burgus → Schlögen - Vicus is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Schlögen - Vicus to back through Passau Haibach - Burgus
Schlögen - Vicus → back through Passau Haibach - Burgus is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Passau Haibach - Burgus to back through Schlögen - Kastell
back through Passau Haibach - Burgus → back through Schlögen - Kastell is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Schlögen - Kastell to back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
back through Schlögen - Kastell → back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm to Albing - Legionslager
back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm → Albing - Legionslager is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.