Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p and Murrhardt civil settlement northern part
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
307 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 11
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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
307 km from Sulzbach am Main to Sulzbach am Main, about 5 h 11 of riding. The stops in between: Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl, Building remains south of Götzingen, Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the and Murrhardt civil settlement northern part. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p
Niedernberg is a quiet village on the left bank of the Main, a few kilometres downstream from Aschaffenburg, where the river was the Roman frontier. The Upper German-Raetian Limes, after running across the Odenwald, used the Main as its boundary between Großkrotzenburg and Miltenberg, and a fort with a civil settlement stood at Niedernberg, guarding the river line. The northern part of the civil settlement is listed separately as part of the UNESCO site. There is little to see above ground, as the remains lie under fields and houses, but the location by the river makes the Roman logic clear.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl.
2. Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
At Miltenberg, the Roman frontier did something unusual: it stopped being a wall and became a river. North of the town, the Main served as the frontier for some fifty kilometres, guarded by forts and watchtowers along its western bank, and here, where the river bends, the land frontier began again, heading south through the Odenwald. The watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 belong to this stretch, and while most are only traces in fields and forests, they are part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. The Romans built forts at Miltenberg, too, and some of their finds are displayed in the town museum.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Building remains south of Götzingen.
3. Building remains south of Götzingen
Between the Odenwald and the Tauber country lies the Bauland, a high, open plateau of limestone, cornfields and small villages that most travellers cross without slowing down. Just south of Götzingen, among fields and woodland edges between Buchen and Osterburken, are the remains of a Roman building on the line of the Upper Germanic Limes. It is not a grand ruin, more a footprint in the ground, but it belongs to one of the best documented stretches of the frontier, the section that runs straight as a ruler through this part of northern Baden-Württemberg.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 68 km into the recorded legs you reach Building remains south of Götzingen. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the.
4. Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the
For about eighty kilometres through northern Württemberg, the Roman frontier runs in a nearly perfectly straight line, ignoring hills, valleys and rivers as if someone had drawn it with a ruler on a map. Surveyors still argue about how the Romans managed it. The stretch with watchtowers 9/14 to 9/32, near Öhringen in the Hohenlohe region, lies along this remarkable line, and Öhringen itself grew from Roman forts, two of them, which guarded the frontier here. The line is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the Limes trail follows it through fields and forests.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the, about halfway. Next is Murrhardt civil settlement northern part.
5. Murrhardt civil settlement northern part
Murrhardt lies in the valley of the Murr, deep in the Swabian-Franconian Forest northeast of Stuttgart, a hilly, densely wooded region of streams, mills and small villages that feels a long way from the industrial heartland just to the west. The Romans built a fort here on the Limes, the frontier that ran through these forests from north to south, and a civil settlement grew up around it. The northern part of that settlement lies under parts of the modern town, and while there is little to see, the town's museum displays Roman finds, and the frontier through these woods is protected by its World Heritage status.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the comes up about 193 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Building remains south of Götzingen.
7. back through Building remains south of Götzingen
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 237 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Building remains south of Götzingen. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl.
8. back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 307 km.
Leg by leg
Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p to Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p → Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl to Building remains south of Götzingen
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl → Building remains south of Götzingen is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Building remains south of Götzingen to Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the
Building remains south of Götzingen → Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the to Murrhardt civil settlement northern part
Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the → Murrhardt civil settlement northern part is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Murrhardt civil settlement northern part to back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the
Murrhardt civil settlement northern part → back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the to back through Building remains south of Götzingen
back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the → back through Building remains south of Götzingen is 44 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Building remains south of Götzingen to back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
back through Building remains south of Götzingen → back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl to Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p
back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl → Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.