Blashausgraben - Wachtturm and Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Blashausgraben - Wachtturm

   The Wachau is the most beautiful stretch of the Danube in Austria, a narrow valley between Melk and Krems where the river winds between steep hills covered in vineyards and forest, with castles, abbeys and villages on its banks. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site in its own right. Near the village of Aggsbach, on the southern bank, a small Roman watchtower stood in the Blashausgraben, a side valley, as part of the Danube frontier of the Roman Empire.

   Read the complete Blashausgraben - Wachtturm write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Blashausgraben - Wachtturm is where the day begins. Next is Mautern - Kastell Westbereich.

2. 2. Mautern - Kastell Westbereich

   On the south bank of the Danube, just where the river leaves the Wachau gorge and swings out onto the plain, the Romans built a fort called Favianis, and its successor, the town of Mautern, still has the pattern of the Roman streets. The fort was part of the Danube frontier, and in the fifth century, when the empire was crumbling, it became famous because of a monk named Severinus, who came here to help the population and negotiate with the barbarian kings. His life, written by a disciple, is one of the few detailed accounts of life on the Danube at the end of Roman rule.

   Read the complete Mautern - Kastell Westbereich write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Mautern - Kastell Westbereich comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zwentendorf - Kastell.

3. 3. Zwentendorf - Kastell

   The Danube flows broad and brown past Zwentendorf, a quiet village on the Tullnerfeld plain west of Vienna, and for once the most famous building in the area is not the oldest one. Zwentendorf is where Austria built a nuclear power station in the 1970s and then, after a national referendum in 1978, decided never to switch it on. The plant still stands by the river, complete and unused, now a training site and a curiosity.

   Read the complete Zwentendorf - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Zwentendorf - Kastell. Next is Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell.

4. 4. Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell

   Before there was a Vienna, there was a frontier. For some four hundred years the Danube formed the northern boundary of the Roman empire in central Europe, and a chain of forts, watchtowers and harbours kept watch along the south bank. Zeiselmauer, about thirty kilometres upstream from the modern capital, was one of them, and a stretch of Roman wall with a tower still stands in the village, incorporated into later buildings. The Danube Limes in Austria, Germany and Slovakia was listed by UNESCO in 2021.

   Read the complete Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell, about halfway. Next is back through Zwentendorf - Kastell.

5. 5. back through Zwentendorf - Kastell

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Zwentendorf - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Zwentendorf - Kastell sits at 115 km, about halfway. Next is back through Mautern - Kastell Westbereich.

6. 6. back through Mautern - Kastell Westbereich

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Mautern - Kastell Westbereich write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Mautern - Kastell Westbereich comes up about 134 km into the recorded legs. Next is Blashausgraben - Wachtturm.

7. 7. Blashausgraben - Wachtturm

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Blashausgraben - Wachtturm write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Blashausgraben - Wachtturm closes the day.