Oberranna - Kleinkastell and Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Oberranna - Kleinkastell

   The Danube between Passau and Linz is one of the loveliest stretches of the whole river, and near Oberranna, on the Upper Austrian bank, it flows quietly between steep wooded slopes, dark and almost gorge-like. Here, beside the water, archaeologists found a small Roman fort, a Kleinkastell, part of the Danube Limes that guarded the northern frontier of the province of Noricum. Its remains are now protected under a modern shelter, and it forms part of the UNESCO listing of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire along the Danube.

   Read the complete Oberranna - Kleinkastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Oberranna - Kleinkastell is where the day begins. Next is Passau Haibach - Burgus.

2. 2. Passau Haibach - Burgus

   Passau sits where three rivers meet, the Danube, the Inn and the Ilz, and from the high point of the Oberhaus fortress you can see their colours run side by side before mixing: green from the Inn, blue-grey from the Danube, and dark from the Ilz, which flows down from the Bavarian Forest stained by peat. The Romans knew this spot well. They had a fort here called Batavis, named after a unit of Batavian soldiers from the Rhine delta, and another at Boiotro across the Inn, and along the Danube downstream they built small fortified towers called burgi to watch the river and signal to each other. One of these late Roman burgi stood near Haibach, and its remains are part of the Danube Limes, inscribed by UNESCO in 2021 as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.

   Read the complete Passau Haibach - Burgus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Passau Haibach - Burgus comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Schlögen - Vicus.

3. 3. Schlögen - Vicus

   The Danube does something remarkable at Schlögen. Forced by hard granite, the river makes a tight double hairpin, the Schlögener Schlinge, turning back on itself twice in a deep, wooded valley in Upper Austria, and the view of it from above is one of the most famous in the country. A short walk from the river up through the forest leads to the Schlögener Blick viewpoint, where you can see the river coiling below like a green-brown snake between steep slopes.

   Read the complete Schlögen - Vicus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 64 km into the recorded legs you reach Schlögen - Vicus. Next is Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.

4. 4. 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, about halfway. Next is back through Schlögen - Vicus.

5. 5. back through Schlögen - Vicus

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Schlögen - Vicus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Schlögen - Vicus sits at 153 km, about halfway. Next is back through Passau Haibach - Burgus.

6. 6. back through Passau Haibach - Burgus

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Passau Haibach - Burgus write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Passau Haibach - Burgus comes up about 172 km into the recorded legs. Next is Oberranna - Kleinkastell.

7. 7. Oberranna - Kleinkastell

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Oberranna - Kleinkastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Oberranna - Kleinkastell closes the day.