Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi and Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
188 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 45
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.
188 km from Neuwied to Neuwied, about 3 h 45 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the, Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16, Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se and back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
Moselle Wine Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 29 km this is Moselle Wine Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
29 km
Named road
Moselle Wine Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi
Niederbieber was one of the biggest Roman forts in the German frontier country, and it sits on the edge of the modern town of Neuwied, on the river Wied, a few kilometres from where it flows into the Rhine. The fort was built in the second century as a base for a cavalry unit and later a larger garrison, and a large civilian town, the vicus, grew up around it. In the early third century it was rebuilt and expanded, and it had stone walls, towers and a commander's residence, with a large bathhouse and shops outside.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the.
2. Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the
Roman soldiers on this part of the frontier spent most of their time watching, and the towers that you can trace in the woods near Hillscheid are the evidence. Four tower positions follow one another here, each within sight of the next so that a fire or a flag could pass a message along the line in minutes, and a fortlet and the remains of a fort and civil settlement lie nearby, forming a small military zone around the Limes. This was the first stretch of the Upper Germanic frontier after it left the Rhine, so every day brought traders, patrols and tax collectors through the gap.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16.
3. Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Imagine standing in a small timber or stone tower on a cold winter night, looking out over the dark forest for signs of movement, with a fire ready to signal to the next tower along the line. That was the life of the soldiers who manned the watchtowers of the Roman frontier, and the remains of three of them, numbered 2/14 to 2/16 by archaeologists, lie in the woods between Singhofen and Miehlen, on the plateau above the Rhine and the Lahn. Their foundations survive as low mounds and traces in the ground, and the line of the frontier, the ditch and bank, can be followed between them. They are part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, one of the components of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage Site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 70 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16. Next is Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se.
4. Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se
The western Taunus is wonderfully empty. Away from the commuter belt around Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, the hills north of Bad Schwalbach turn into a quiet patchwork of forest, small meadows and villages in the Heidenrod municipality, and right through the middle runs the Limes. Today you find grassy outlines, a few markers and the bank and ditch disappearing into the beech woods.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the comes up about 155 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi to Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the
Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi → Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the to Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the → Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 to Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se
Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 → Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se to back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16
Fortlets and site of the fort and civil se → back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 to back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the
back through Watchtowers WP 2/14 to 2/16 → back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the to Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi
back through Watchtowers WP 1/69 to 1/72 including the → Fort site and civil settlement of Niederbi is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.