Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 and Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
99 km
Riding-time estimate
1 h 15
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.
99 km from Echzell to Echzell, about 1 h 15 of riding. The stops in between: Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg, Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the and back through Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 → Fort site and civil settlement
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 16 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
Length
19 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82
Between two neighbouring watchtowers the Romans left a short piece of frontier that today looks like almost nothing, and that is part of its charm. The line between Wachtposten 4/81 and 4/82 runs through the fields of the Wetterau east of Frankfurt, close to Echzell, where the earth wall and ditch of the Limes can still be traced as a long, low swelling in the farmland, sometimes crowned by a hedge or a row of trees that have grown on it. Beneath the field, archaeologists have found postholes of the palisade, which stood about three metres high and was made of split oak trunks.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg.
2. Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
Arnsburg confuses people, and for good reason. The name belongs first to a Cistercian monastery in the Wetter valley near Lich, whose roofless Gothic church stands in a meadow as one of the most romantic ruins in Hesse. But on the wooded hill nearby lies an older layer: a Roman fort on the Limes, sometimes called the Alteburg, with its civil settlement, and the frontier itself running past on its way around the northern edge of the Wetterau.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg comes up about 19 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the
Near Butzbach the Wetterau starts to break against the Taunus, and the Roman frontier passes through that transition with a long series of numbered watchtowers, in this case 4/20 to 4/36. It is a longer run than most, and it reflects how carefully the Romans watched this side of the line, where the open plain makes a natural highway for anyone coming from the north. The Upper German-Raetian Limes, listed by UNESCO in 2005, crosses farmland here, and in places the old rampart survives as a low bank in a meadow edge or a stretch of forest.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 40 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg.
4. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 to Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 → Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg to Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the
Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg → Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the is 21 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg
Watchtowers WP 4/20 to 4/36 including the → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg to Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Arnsburg → Limessection between WP 4/81 and 4/82 is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.