Fort site of Oberhochstatt and Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Fort site of Oberhochstatt

   Not every Roman fort on the frontier was a great stone fortress. Some were small, temporary or quickly abandoned, and the fort site of Oberhochstatt, on the high plateau above Weißenburg in Bavaria, seems to have been one of these, a modest garrison post on the Raetian Limes. There is little to see today beyond a field, perhaps an information board and the outline of the defences in the grass. But the landscape around is full of Roman history, and the town of Weißenburg, a short ride away, is one of the best places in Germany to experience it.

   Read the complete Fort site of Oberhochstatt write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Fort site of Oberhochstatt is where the day begins. Next is fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh.

2. 2. fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh

   The Romans called it Iciniacum, and for a century and a half it was home to a cavalry unit guarding the Raetian frontier in what is now Middle Franconia. The fort at Theilenhofen, near Gunzenhausen in Bavaria, lay just behind the Limes, the frontier wall that here was built of stone, running across the landscape from the Danube toward the Main. Today there is little above ground, but information panels by the site and the line of the fort traced in the fields help visitors picture it. It is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2005.

   Read the complete fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh 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 Theilenh comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45.

3. 3. Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45

   South of Gunzenhausen the old frontier of the Roman Empire ran across the countryside in a ruler-straight line, and the numbered watchtowers are the markers for that line. This is the Raetian Limes, the stretch that, from the second century onward, was built from timber and then stone to protect the province of Raetia from the Germanic tribes to the north. The numbers 13/41 to 13/45 simply describe a cluster of tower sites on the surveyor's map. Most of them have been reduced by farming and time to low mounds and gentle banks in the fields, so what you actually find is landscape rather than masonry.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 43 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 13/41 to 13/45. Next is back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh.

4. 4. back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through fort site and civil settlement of Theilenh, late in the day. Next is Fort site of Oberhochstatt.

5. 5. Fort site of Oberhochstatt

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Fort site of Oberhochstatt 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 of Oberhochstatt. That is the ride.