Why this ride
A 270 km round trip from Aalen - roughly 4 h 33 in the saddle. The stops in between: Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a, Building remains south of Götzingen and back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen and Building remains south of Götzingen
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 270 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 33
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen
The largest Roman cavalry fort north of the Alps stood on the site of today's Aalen, in the eastern Swabian Jura. It was home to a regiment of a thousand horsemen, the ala II Flavia, the most prestigious cavalry unit on the Raetian frontier, and its walls enclosed a huge area, with barracks, stables, granaries and a headquarters building. Beside it grew a civilian settlement, with traders, craftsmen and families. Today the site is home to the Limesmuseum Aalen, one of the most important museums of the Roman frontier in Germany, with excavated foundations, reconstructions and a rich collection of finds. It is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage site.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen is where the day begins. Next is Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a.
2. Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a
Mainhardt is a small town in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, a long ridge of wooded hills east of Stuttgart and north of Schwäbisch Hall, and the Romans chose to drop their frontier straight through here. The Upper Germanic Limes runs dead straight for many kilometres in this region, up and down hills without regard to the terrain, because the surveyors drew the line first and let the army follow it. At Mainhardt there was a fort with a garrison of auxiliary soldiers, and the outline can be traced in the ground east of the town. The numbers on the label refer to the watchtowers, small timber and then stone posts that stood at intervals along the line within sight of one another.
Read the complete Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a comes up about 63 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.
Read the complete Building remains south of Götzingen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 138 km into the recorded legs you reach Building remains south of Götzingen. Next is back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a.
4. back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen.
5. Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen to Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a
Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen → Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a to Building remains south of Götzingen
Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a → Building remains south of Götzingen is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Building remains south of Götzingen to back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a
Building remains south of Götzingen → back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a is 73 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a to Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen
back through Limessection between watchtowers WP 9/68 a → Fort site and civil settlement of Aalen is 60 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.