Murrhardt civil settlement northern part and Fort site and civil settlement of Trennfur

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Murrhardt civil settlement northern part

   Murrhardt lies in the valley of the Murr, deep in the Swabian-Franconian Forest northeast of Stuttgart, a hilly, densely wooded region of streams, mills and small villages that feels a long way from the industrial heartland just to the west. The Romans built a fort here on the Limes, the frontier that ran through these forests from north to south, and a civil settlement grew up around it. The northern part of that settlement lies under parts of the modern town, and while there is little to see, the town's museum displays Roman finds, and the frontier through these woods is protected by its World Heritage status.

   Read the complete Murrhardt civil settlement northern part write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Murrhardt civil settlement northern part is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41.

2. 2. Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41

   Somewhere between Walldürn and the hills north of Stuttgart, the Roman surveyors drew a line on the map and simply refused to bend it. For about eighty kilometres, the Upper Germanic Limes runs almost perfectly straight across hill and valley, one of the most remarkable feats of ancient surveying in Europe. The watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 near Osterburken and Adelsheim lie on that straight stretch, and like the rest of the frontier they are part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Most are now low mounds in fields and woods, but here and there you will find a reconstructed tower or a stretch of wall to give you an idea of what it looked like.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 comes up about 77 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Trennfur.

3. 3. Fort site and civil settlement of Trennfur

   For a stretch of about fifty kilometres the Romans let the River Main do the work of a wall. Between Miltenberg and Grosskrotzenburg, the frontier of the Upper Germanic Limes followed the river instead of running as a palisade across country, and a chain of forts sat along its west bank. Trennfurt, a village now part of Klingenberg am Main, was one of them: a fort with its civilian settlement, the vicus, where traders, craftsmen and soldiers' families lived. It is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and as with many Limes sites, most of what survives lies under fields and gardens rather than standing proud.

   Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Trennfur write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 144 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Trennfur. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41.

4. 4. back through Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41, late in the day. Next is Murrhardt civil settlement northern part.

5. 5. Murrhardt civil settlement northern part

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Murrhardt civil settlement northern part write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Murrhardt civil settlement northern part. That is the ride.