Why this ride
From Nassau it runs 338 km to Nassau; allow about 5 h 30 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtower WP 3/4*, Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the, Signaltower Johannisberg and Watchtower WP 3/42*. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a and Watchtower WP 3/42*
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 338 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 30
- 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.
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.
Read the complete Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
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.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/4* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
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.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
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.
Read the complete Signaltower Johannisberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Signaltower Johannisberg, about halfway. Next is Watchtower WP 3/42*.
5. Watchtower WP 3/42*
Glashütten takes its name from the glass huts that worked in these forests in the Middle Ages, when the endless beech and oak of the high Taunus supplied fuel for the furnaces and potash for the glass. Today it is a quiet village spread over a saddle below the Großer Feldberg, at around 880 metres the highest summit in the Taunus, and the Roman frontier passes right by it. Watchtower 3/42 stood on this stretch of the Limes, where the bank and ditch run through the forest along the ridge; near the Feldberg summit, the remains of a small Roman fort, the Feldbergkastell, show where a garrison guarded a pass through the mountains.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/42* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/42* sits at 139 km, about halfway. Next is back through Signaltower Johannisberg.
6. back through Signaltower Johannisberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Signaltower Johannisberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Signaltower Johannisberg comes up about 215 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the.
7. back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 260 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/4*.
8. back through Watchtower WP 3/4*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/4* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtower WP 3/4*, late in the day. Next is Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a.
9. Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a 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 338 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 Watchtower WP 3/42*
Signaltower Johannisberg → Watchtower WP 3/42* is 47 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/42* to back through Signaltower Johannisberg
Watchtower WP 3/42* → back through Signaltower Johannisberg is 45 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 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.