Enns - Legionslager Nordecke and Schlögen - Kastell

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Enns - Legionslager Nordecke

   When the Roman army reorganised the Danube frontier after the wars against the Marcomanni in the later second century, a legion was posted here, the Second Italica, with a base large enough to hold several thousand soldiers. Fortresses of this kind were laid out to a standard plan, a rectangle with rounded corners, four gates, a main street and a headquarters building at the centre, so a soldier transferred from another province would know where to find the bath house without asking.

   Read the complete Enns - Legionslager Nordecke write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Enns - Legionslager Nordecke is where the day begins. Next is Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg.

2. 2. Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg

   Linz is a city that has reinvented itself. For much of the twentieth century it was known mainly for its steelworks and its uncomfortable links with the Nazi period; today it markets itself as a city of culture and technology, with the Ars Electronica centre glowing on the Danube bank at night, the Lentos art museum opposite, and a lively music scene. The Schlossberg, the castle hill above the old town, is where it all began: the Romans had a fort here called Lentia, part of the Danube frontier of the empire, and the Danube Limes is now on the World Heritage list. The castle that stands there now dates largely from the Renaissance, built for Emperor Frederick III, who spent his last years in Linz and died here in 1493. It houses a branch of the Upper Austrian state museum.

   Read the complete Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Schlögen - Kastell.

3. 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

   about 68 km into the recorded legs you reach Schlögen - Kastell. Next is back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg.

4. 4. back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg, late in the day. Next is Enns - Legionslager Nordecke.

5. 5. Enns - Legionslager Nordecke

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Enns - Legionslager Nordecke write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Enns - Legionslager Nordecke. That is the ride.