Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe and Ruine Altenmuster

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe

   Marienfels is a small village in the hills of the western Taunus, between the Rhine and the Lahn, and it sits on the site of a Roman fort and its civilian settlement, part of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing. The frontier wall ran through these hills, and the fort housed a garrison that guarded the frontier and the roads that crossed it. Little remains above ground, but excavations have revealed the outline of the fort and the settlement, with houses, baths and workshops.

   Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe 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 Marienfe is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the.

2. 2. Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the

   High in the Taunus hills northwest of Frankfurt, the Upper German Limes runs along the main ridge, and here, between Glashütten and Schmitten, a series of watchtower sites and the remains of a small fort follow the frontier through dense beech and spruce forest. The bank and ditch of the Limes are still clearly visible, winding over the hills like a long scar, and the area is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Nearby, on the Kleiner Feldberg, lie the remains of a Roman fort, and a few kilometres east, the Saalburg near Bad Homburg is a fully reconstructed fort with a museum, the best place in Germany to imagine life on the frontier.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the comes up about 71 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ruine Altenmuster.

3. 3. Ruine Altenmuster

   Lorsch Abbey, founded in the eighth century, became one of the most powerful monasteries of the Carolingian empire, with vast estates, a famous library and the patronage of Charlemagne himself. Its first home, however, was not on the site of the later abbey, but a short distance away, on an island in the Weschnitz river, a place known as Altenmünster, the old minster. The ruins of that first foundation, a few low walls in a meadow, are a quiet counterpoint to the abbey's most famous building, the Torhalle, a gatehouse with a façade of red and white stone panels, one of the few surviving examples of Carolingian architecture. The abbey and Altenmünster together have been on the UNESCO list since 1991.

   Read the complete Ruine Altenmuster write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 160 km into the recorded legs you reach Ruine Altenmuster. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the.

4. 4. back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the, late in the day. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe.

5. 5. Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Marienfe 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 Marienfe. That is the ride.