Why this ride
From Passau it runs 154 km to Passau; allow about 2 h 33 of riding. It goes by way of Oberranna - Kleinkastell, Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm and back through Oberranna - Kleinkastell. Expect gradients and long views.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Passau Altstadt - Kastell and Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 154 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 33
- 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.
Scenic road chapters
Passau Altstadt - Kastell → Oberranna - Kleinkastell
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 34 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 33 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Passau Altstadt - Kastell
Passau sits at the point where three rivers meet, in the far east of Bavaria, close to the Austrian border: the Danube, which is a cold greenish-blue here, the Inn, which arrives milky green from the Alps, and the Ilz, a small, dark river that stains the water black from the peat of the Bavarian Forest. On a still day you can see all three colours running side by side at the tip of the old town, which is why people call it the City of Three Rivers, and sometimes the Bavarian Venice.
Read the complete Passau Altstadt - Kastell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Passau Altstadt - Kastell is where the day begins. Next is Oberranna - Kleinkastell.
2. 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 comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.
3. 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
about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm. Next is back through Oberranna - Kleinkastell.
4. back through 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
back through Oberranna - Kleinkastell, late in the day. Next is Passau Altstadt - Kastell.
5. Passau Altstadt - Kastell
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Passau Altstadt - Kastell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Passau Altstadt - Kastell. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Passau Altstadt - Kastell to Oberranna - Kleinkastell
Passau Altstadt - Kastell → Oberranna - Kleinkastell is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Oberranna - Kleinkastell to Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Oberranna - Kleinkastell → Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm to back through Oberranna - Kleinkastell
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm → back through Oberranna - Kleinkastell is 46 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Oberranna - Kleinkastell to Passau Altstadt - Kastell
back through Oberranna - Kleinkastell → Passau Altstadt - Kastell is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.