Why this ride
From Wehrheim it runs 159 km to Wehrheim; allow about 2 h 46 of riding. It goes by way of Fortlet Eichkopf, Watchtower WP 4/39*, Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the and Fortlet Dicker Wald 1.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Building remains southwest of Saalburg and Fortlet Dicker Wald 1
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 159 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 46
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. 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
Building remains southwest of Saalburg → Fortlet Eichkopf
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 16 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 20 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Building remains southwest of Saalburg
If you want to know what a Roman fort on the German frontier really looked like, the Saalburg is the place, and these building remains lie in the forest just southwest of it, part of the civilian and military landscape that grew up around the fort. The Saalburg itself was rebuilt at the beginning of the twentieth century on the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was fascinated by Roman history and keen to present the German empire as the heir of Rome. The walls, gates, headquarters building and granaries were reconstructed on the original foundations, based on the archaeology of the time, and today the fort houses a museum full of finds from the frontier, along with workshops, a Roman garden and regular events with reenactors.
Read the complete Building remains southwest of Saalburg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Building remains southwest of Saalburg is where the day begins. Next is Fortlet Eichkopf.
2. Fortlet Eichkopf
Deep in the forest on the eastern slopes of the Taunus, near Ober-Mörlen, the Romans built a small fortlet known today as Eichkopf, after the wooded hill on which it stands. It was one of the many minor installations along the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, the frontier that separated the Roman Empire from the free Germanic tribes, and it housed a small detachment of soldiers who patrolled the line and manned the nearby watchtowers. The outline of the fortlet is still visible as a low rampart and ditch among the trees, and nearby, the line of the frontier itself, with its bank and ditch, can be traced through the forest. It is part of the World Heritage site of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Fortlet Eichkopf write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Eichkopf comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 4/39*.
3. Watchtower WP 4/39*
The Wetterau is one of the richest farming plains in Germany, a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt where loess soil lies deep over old river gravel, and wheat and sugar beet grow in enormous fields. At its edge the Taunus hills rise to the south and west, and the Roman Limes ran along their northern slope, taking in the whole plain as a deliberately protected frontier region. Watchtower 4/39 stands in this open country near Butzbach, and the number marks one of the many posts that kept watch over fields that were, even then, valuable enough to defend.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/39* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 39 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 4/39*. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the.
4. Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
The Wetterau is a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt, one of the best farming landscapes in Hesse, and the Romans fenced it with a frontier that ran in a wide arc through the grain fields. This group of watchtowers, with its numbers running from 4/59 to 4/71, lies near Hungen and Lich on the eastern side, where the plain begins to rise toward the Vogelsberg. Close by stands the Eichkopf fortlet, and a few kilometres to the north the ruins of the big fort at Arnsburg lie beside the remains of a Cistercian abbey, a double dose of history under tall trees.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the, about halfway. Next is Fortlet Dicker Wald 1.
5. Fortlet Dicker Wald 1
The Dicker Wald, the thick forest, is a good name for a place where a Roman fortlet once stood among trees. The fortlet was a small post on the Wetterau Limes, the frontier line that curves around the plain north of Frankfurt, and it sat just inside woodland that still covers much of the hill. What you find today are low earthworks and the outline of a small enclosure, but the surrounding forest gives a good sense of the lonely, damp setting soldiers would have known. The Limes was a frontier of watchtowers, small forts and larger garrisons, all linked by a path and a palisade.
Read the complete Fortlet Dicker Wald 1 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Dicker Wald 1 sits at 68 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the.
6. back through Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the comes up about 97 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtower WP 4/39*.
7. back through Watchtower WP 4/39*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/39* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 119 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtower WP 4/39*. Next is back through Fortlet Eichkopf.
8. back through Fortlet Eichkopf
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Eichkopf write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fortlet Eichkopf, late in the day. Next is Building remains southwest of Saalburg.
9. Building remains southwest of Saalburg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Building remains southwest of Saalburg 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 159 km.
Leg by leg
Building remains southwest of Saalburg to Fortlet Eichkopf
Building remains southwest of Saalburg → Fortlet Eichkopf is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Eichkopf to Watchtower WP 4/39*
Fortlet Eichkopf → Watchtower WP 4/39* is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 4/39* to Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Watchtower WP 4/39* → Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the to Fortlet Dicker Wald 1
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the → Fortlet Dicker Wald 1 is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Dicker Wald 1 to back through Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Fortlet Dicker Wald 1 → back through Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the is 18 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the to back through Watchtower WP 4/39*
back through Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the → back through Watchtower WP 4/39* is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 4/39* to back through Fortlet Eichkopf
back through Watchtower WP 4/39* → back through Fortlet Eichkopf is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Eichkopf to Building remains southwest of Saalburg
back through Fortlet Eichkopf → Building remains southwest of Saalburg is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.