CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
From Großkrotzenburg it runs 403 km to Großkrotzenburg; allow about 5 h 30 of riding. The stops in between: Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor, Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg, Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 and Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
For about 38 km this is German Fairy Tale Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it — expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast.
37 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it. Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Großkrotzenburg sits at a turning point of the Roman frontier. Here, on the Main east of Frankfurt, the river border that ran north from Miltenberg came to an end, and the Limes turned away from the water to head north across the Wetterau toward the Taunus. A fort guarded the spot, with a civilian settlement, and parts of its walls and gate can still be traced in the old town, where the fort's outline is marked in the streets. The site belongs to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the local museum displays finds from the fort and the vicus.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro is where the day begins. Next is Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor.
The Wetterau is a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt, a land of rich loess soils, wheat fields, orchards and old villages, and the Romans wanted it badly. Their frontier, the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, bulged out here to take in the whole basin, looping around it in a wide arc. At Ober-Florstadt stood a fort with a civilian settlement beside it, where soldiers' families, traders and craftsmen lived. Today little is visible, but the site is part of the World Heritage frontier, and information boards help to picture the scene.
Read the complete Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
If you want to know what a Roman frontier fort actually looked like, this is the place. The Saalburg, on the ridge of the Taunus above Bad Homburg, is the only Limes fort in Germany rebuilt in full: walls, gates, towers, granary and the headquarters building, all standing again on their original foundations. The reconstruction was ordered by Kaiser Wilhelm II around 1900, who liked his Romans grand and imperial, and while archaeologists today debate some details, walking through the main gate is still a jolt.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 74 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg. Next is Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39.
The Wetterau is a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt, and the Limes crosses it on its way from the Taunus hills towards the Main. Near Butzbach, the frontier runs through farmland and low wooded ridges, with a line of watchtowers, and the stretch between towers 4/37 and 4/39 is a quiet piece of it. The Saalburg, the reconstructed Roman fort in the Taunus, lies a short distance to the south, and it makes the best starting point for understanding what the frontier looked like.
Read the complete Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39, about halfway. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22.
The Taunus is the low, wooded range north of Frankfurt, and the Romans chose it as the place to draw their line. The Limes crossed the ridge at a height that gave good views over both sides, and watchtowers placed close together made it possible to send signals by fire and smoke from tower to tower. The numbers, such as WP 3/20, are from the survey carried out by German archaeologists at the end of the nineteenth century, and they refer to the third section of the line. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes was listed by UNESCO in 2005.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 sits at 165 km, about halfway. Next is back through Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 comes up about 287 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 329 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg. Next is back through Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
The route ends here after 403 km.
Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro → Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor → Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 → Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 is 87 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 3/20 to 3/22 → back through Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 is 85 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Limessection between WP 4/37 and 4/39 → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → back through Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortsite and civil settlement of Ober-Flor → Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.