Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a and Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
323 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 23
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.
A 323 km round trip from Nassau - roughly 5 h 23 in the saddle. On the way it passes Watchtower WP 3/4*, Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the, Signaltower Johannisberg and Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a
Up on the plateau of the Hintertaunus, north of the Rhine gorge, the Roman frontier crossed a quiet landscape of fields and forest near Singhofen, and a section of it between two watchtowers survives here as a faint bank and ditch running through the woods. This is the Upper German Limes, which ran for more than five hundred kilometres from the Rhine to the Danube, marking the boundary between the Roman Empire and the free Germanic tribes from the second century until the Romans withdrew in the third. It was not a great wall like Hadrian's in Britain, but a line of watchtowers, forts and a timber palisade, later strengthened with a ditch and bank. Together with the Raetian Limes, it was listed by UNESCO in 2005.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 3/4*.
2. Watchtower WP 3/4*
In the western Taunus, between Bad Schwalbach and Taunusstein, the forest is thick and the hills roll gently, and the Upper German Limes runs along the ridge here as a still visible bank and ditch. The site labelled Watchtower WP 3/4 is one of the many small posts along this section, and a few kilometres to the east, near Taunusstein-Orlen, the fort of Zugmantel guarded a crossing of the frontier on an old trade route into Germanic territory. These remains are part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, and a walk along the Limes trail through the forest here is peaceful and atmospheric.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/4* comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
High in the Taunus hills northwest of Frankfurt, the Upper German Limes runs along the main ridge, and here, between Glashütten and Schmitten, a series of watchtower sites and the remains of a small fort follow the frontier through dense beech and spruce forest. The bank and ditch of the Limes are still clearly visible, winding over the hills like a long scar, and the area is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Nearby, on the Kleiner Feldberg, lie the remains of a Roman fort, and a few kilometres east, the Saalburg near Bad Homburg is a fully reconstructed fort with a museum, the best place in Germany to imagine life on the frontier.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 80 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the. Next is Signaltower Johannisberg.
4. Signaltower Johannisberg
On a hill above Bad Nauheim, the Johannisberg, the Romans built a signal tower that could communicate with the frontier forts of the Wetterau, the fertile plain that bulges north of Frankfurt and was protected by a long loop of the Limes. The site, with a later medieval chapel and a modern observation tower, gives wide views over the plain and the Taunus hills, and it is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing. On a clear day you can see the towers of Frankfurt on the horizon.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Signaltower Johannisberg, about halfway. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge.
5. Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge
East of Frankfurt, on the low ground where the Kinzig valley opens toward Hanau, the Romans pushed their frontier forward in the late first century AD. Rückingen, today a part of Erlensee, was the site of a fort with a civil settlement around it, part of the Wetterau section of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Limes here ran south toward the Main, and the forts guarded crossings and roads leading into the Roman province. As with most of the frontier in this area, there is little to see above ground, but the line of the Limes is marked and explained along cycle and walking routes.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 323 km.
Leg by leg
Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a to Watchtower WP 3/4*
Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a → Watchtower WP 3/4* is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/4* to Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
Watchtower WP 3/4* → Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the to Signaltower Johannisberg
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the → Signaltower Johannisberg is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Signaltower Johannisberg to Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge
Signaltower Johannisberg → Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge to back through Signaltower Johannisberg
Fort site and civil settlement of Rückinge → back through Signaltower Johannisberg is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Signaltower Johannisberg to back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
back through Signaltower Johannisberg → back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the to back through Watchtower WP 3/4*
back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the → back through Watchtower WP 3/4* is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/4* to Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a
back through Watchtower WP 3/4* → Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.