Fort site and civil settlement of Wörth and Watchtower WP 7/37
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
77 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 13
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.
77 km from Erlenbach am Main to Erlenbach am Main, about 1 h 13 of riding. On the way it passes Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe, Watchtower WP 7/37 and back through Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe. 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 Wörth
For a stretch of about fifty kilometres, the Roman frontier of Upper Germany did not need a wall at all. Between Großkrotzenburg and Miltenberg, the Main river itself served as the border, and the Romans lined its western bank with forts and watchtowers to watch over the water and the forested hills of the Spessart on the other side. Wörth am Main had one of these forts, with a civil settlement where soldiers' families, traders and craftsmen lived. Very little remains above ground, but this wet frontier is inscribed as part of the Upper German Limes, and standing on the riverbank you can see why the Romans thought the river was enough.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Wörth is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe.
2. Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe
Miltenberg is one of those German towns that seem almost too pretty to be real, with half-timbered houses leaning over the cobbled streets, a market square sloping down toward the river, a castle on the hill above and the Main flowing slowly past. The Romans were here first. Two forts guarded this point on the frontier, one near the old town and another to the east, where the Limes left the river and ran overland through the Odenwald, and the sites, with their civilian settlements, are part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. A museum in the town displays finds from the forts.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe comes up about 14 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 7/37.
3. Watchtower WP 7/37
The Romans liked straight lines, and nowhere more than here. On the edge of Walldürn, in the hilly country between the Odenwald and the Tauber valley, runs the course of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, the frontier wall that marked the edge of the Roman Empire across what is now southern Germany. Watchtower WP 7/37 is one of hundreds of small posts that lined it, each within sight of the next, so that signals could be passed along the frontier. The Limes here famously runs almost dead straight for many kilometres, regardless of hills and valleys, a statement of Roman confidence and surveying skill.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Fort site and civil settlement of Wörth. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Fort site and civil settlement of Wörth to Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe
Fort site and civil settlement of Wörth → Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe to Watchtower WP 7/37
Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe → Watchtower WP 7/37 is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 7/37 to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe
Watchtower WP 7/37 → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe to Fort site and civil settlement of Wörth
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Miltenbe → Fort site and civil settlement of Wörth is 14 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.