Why this ride
339 km from Linz to Linz, about 4 h 53 of riding. It goes by way of Albing - Legionslager, Ybbs - Kleinkastell, Blashausgraben - Wachtturm and Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm and Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 339 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 53
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Wachau Danube Road
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 30 km this is Wachau Danube Road, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 30 km
- Named road
- Wachau Danube Road
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Just west of Linz, the Danube narrows and the steep, wooded slopes of the Kürnberger Wald rise from its southern bank. In the Roman period this river was the frontier of the empire, and the soldiers who guarded it built a chain of forts and watchtowers along the bank to watch for raiders crossing from the north. The Hirschleitengraben watchtower is one of these, a small Roman tower in a side ravine of the forest, part of the Danube Limes, which UNESCO listed in 2021 as one of the great frontiers of the Roman Empire. Its remains are modest, but the position, looking over the river toward Puchenau and the hills of the Mühlviertel, makes the purpose clear.
Read the complete Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm is where the day begins. Next is Albing - Legionslager.
2. Albing - Legionslager
There is almost nothing to see at Albing, and that is exactly what makes it a good story. Under these fields near the confluence of the Enns and the Danube lay one of the largest Roman military bases ever built in what is now Austria, a full legionary fortress raised in the later second century, around the time of the Marcomannic Wars, when Rome was fighting hard to hold the Danube against peoples from the north. It was planned on a grand scale and then, it seems, given up very soon after, probably because the site was too exposed to floods. The legion moved a few kilometres south to Lauriacum, the camp at today's Enns.
Read the complete Albing - Legionslager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Albing - Legionslager comes up about 36 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ybbs - Kleinkastell.
3. Ybbs - Kleinkastell
Ybbs an der Donau and Persenbeug face each other across the Danube in Lower Austria, connected by a hydroelectric dam that was one of the first built on the Austrian Danube after the war. Persenbeug is dominated by its castle, perched on a rock above the river, which belonged to the Habsburgs and was the birthplace of Emperor Charles I, the last emperor of Austria-Hungary. On the Ybbs side, the remains of a small Roman fort have been found, part of the Danube frontier of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Ybbs - Kleinkastell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 99 km into the recorded legs you reach Ybbs - Kleinkastell. Next is Blashausgraben - Wachtturm.
4. Blashausgraben - Wachtturm
The Wachau is the most beautiful stretch of the Danube in Austria, a narrow valley between Melk and Krems where the river winds between steep hills covered in vineyards and forest, with castles, abbeys and villages on its banks. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site in its own right. Near the village of Aggsbach, on the southern bank, a small Roman watchtower stood in the Blashausgraben, a side valley, as part of the Danube frontier of the Roman Empire.
Read the complete Blashausgraben - Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Blashausgraben - Wachtturm, about halfway. Next is Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert.
5. Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert
Traismauer is a small wine town on the south side of the Danube, just where the Traisen river comes down from the Alpine foothills to meet the big river, and it has been a fortified place for something like eighteen centuries. The Romans called their fort here Augustianis, one link in the chain of camps and watchtowers that guarded the frontier of the province of Noricum. In 2021 the Danube Limes was added to the UNESCO list, and Traismauer is one of the places where you can still see the old walls doing a job.
Read the complete Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert sits at 160 km, about halfway. Next is back through Blashausgraben - Wachtturm.
6. back through Blashausgraben - Wachtturm
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Blashausgraben - Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Blashausgraben - Wachtturm comes up about 209 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ybbs - Kleinkastell.
7. back through Ybbs - Kleinkastell
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ybbs - Kleinkastell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 243 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ybbs - Kleinkastell. Next is back through Albing - Legionslager.
8. back through Albing - Legionslager
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Albing - Legionslager write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Albing - Legionslager, late in the day. Next is Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.
9. Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 339 km.
Leg by leg
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm to Albing - Legionslager
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm → Albing - Legionslager is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Albing - Legionslager to Ybbs - Kleinkastell
Albing - Legionslager → Ybbs - Kleinkastell is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ybbs - Kleinkastell to Blashausgraben - Wachtturm
Ybbs - Kleinkastell → Blashausgraben - Wachtturm is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Blashausgraben - Wachtturm to Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert
Blashausgraben - Wachtturm → Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert to back through Blashausgraben - Wachtturm
Traismauer - Kastell südwestlicher Fächert → back through Blashausgraben - Wachtturm is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Blashausgraben - Wachtturm to back through Ybbs - Kleinkastell
back through Blashausgraben - Wachtturm → back through Ybbs - Kleinkastell is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ybbs - Kleinkastell to back through Albing - Legionslager
back through Ybbs - Kleinkastell → back through Albing - Legionslager is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Albing - Legionslager to Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
back through Albing - Legionslager → Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.