Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen and Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40 starting at Weißenburg in Bayern
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
75 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 19
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.
A 75 km round trip from Weißenburg in Bayern - roughly 1 h 19 in the saddle. The stops in between: Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the, Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40 and back through Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen
Ellingen is a small town that punches well above its weight. Its centre is dominated by a vast baroque palace built by the Teutonic Order, the German crusading knights who later became a religious and administrative order, and who ran a commandery here for centuries. The palace, with its church, courtyards and gardens, is far grander than you would expect in such a small place. Just outside the town, the Romans had an earlier presence: a fort called Sablonetum stood here on the Raetian Limes, with a civil settlement beside it, guarding the frontier as it crossed the countryside north of Weißenburg. Its outline has been marked in the fields, and it is part of the World Heritage site of the Upper German-Raetian Limes.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the.
2. Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Here the frontier changes character. West of the Franconian lakes the Romans built the Raetian Limes not as a palisade but, in its final form, as a stone wall, a metre or so thick and perhaps three high, running across Middle Franconia toward the Danube. Medieval villagers who found its rubble in their fields had no idea who had built it and called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, which tells you how thoroughly the empire had been forgotten. The watchtowers numbered in this section sat along that wall in the farmland around Pfofeld and Gunzenhausen, close to where the line crosses the Altmühl valley.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the comes up about 17 km into the recorded legs. Next is Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40.
3. Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40
In the rolling country of Middle Franconia, between Gunzenhausen and Wassertrüdingen, the Raetian Limes ran as a stone wall rather than a wooden palisade. Local people later called its remains the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, believing no human could have built such a long barrier. The section near watchtower WP 13/40, close to Arberg and Ornbau, is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage Site, and in places a low bank of stones in the fields and woods still marks the line.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 38 km into the recorded legs you reach Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the.
4. back through Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen to Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen → Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the to Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40
Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the → Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40 is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40 to back through Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Limessection between watchtowers WP 13/40 → back through Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the to Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen
back through Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the → Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.