Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz and Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
160 km
Riding-time estimate
2 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.
From Eichstätt it runs 160 km to Eichstätt; allow about 2 h 45 of riding. The stops in between: Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching, Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming, Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 and back through Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz
Above the village of Pfünz, on a spur of white Jura limestone looking down into the Altmühl valley, the Romans built a fort they called Vetoniana. Today a reconstructed gate and a stretch of wall stand on the hilltop, and from up there you understand the choice at once: the valley floor curls below you, the river meanders slowly, and anyone moving along it would have been seen hours before they arrived.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching.
2. Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching
North of the Danube, on the edge of the Franconian Jura, the Romans built a string of forts behind the Raetian frontier to guard the river valley and the roads leading to it. Kösching, today a market town near Ingolstadt, was the site of one of them, an auxiliary fort with a civilian settlement around it, home to craftsmen, traders and the families of soldiers. Little is visible today, as the modern town has grown over it, but the site is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. The Danube valley was a busy corridor in Roman times, and remains so today.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming.
3. Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming
The Altmühl valley is one of the most beautiful river valleys in Bavaria, and near the village of Böhming, a short way upstream from Kipfenberg, the Romans built a small fort to guard the point where their frontier, the Raetian Limes, crossed the river. The Limes here came down from the plateau, crossed the valley and climbed again on the other side, and the fort, with its civil settlement, controlled the crossing and the route along the river. Little is visible today beyond outlines in the fields and a few marked spots, but a stone inscription found here and the finds displayed in the Roman and Bavarian museum in Kipfenberg bring the site to life.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 50 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming. Next is Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47.
4. Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47
Up in the hills above the Altmühl valley, west of Neustadt an der Donau and the Danube, the old Raetian frontier crossed some of its prettiest country. The numbers 15/27 to 15/47 cover a long stretch of the line, and because that line follows the ridges and plateau edges, the landscape is a mixture of fields, juniper-dotted limestone slopes and sheltered woods. The Altmühl itself is a slow river that has cut a deep, winding valley through Jurassic limestone, and the whole district is a nature park, known for fossils from the quarries at Solnhofen.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming sits at 106 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching.
6. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz closes the day.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz to Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching
Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz → Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching to Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming
Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching → Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming to Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47
Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming → Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming
Watchtowers WP 15/27 to 15/47 → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Boehming → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching to Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Kösching → Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.