Why this ride
From Waldkirchen am Wesen it runs 225 km to Waldkirchen am Wesen; allow about 3 h 45 of riding. On the way it passes Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm, Enns - Gräberstraße, Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg and Enns - Canabae Nordwest.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Schlögen - Kastell and Enns - Canabae Nordwest
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 225 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 45
- 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. Schlögen - Kastell
The Danube here performs one of its most famous tricks. Forced by hard granite, the river makes two tight hairpin turns, the Schlögener Schlinge, doubling back on itself in a loop so neat it looks drawn with a compass. From the viewpoint on the wooded slope above, a short walk from the road, you look down on the river curling around a forested spur, and it is one of the classic images of Upper Austria.
Read the complete Schlögen - Kastell write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Schlögen - Kastell is where the day begins. Next is Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.
2. 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 comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Enns - Gräberstraße.
3. Enns - Gräberstraße
Enns claims to be the oldest town in Austria, on the strength of a charter granted in 1212, but its roots go much deeper. Just outside the modern town lay Lauriacum, a Roman legionary fortress that housed the Second Italian Legion and grew into one of the most important places on the Danube frontier, with a civilian town, temples and, as the Gräberstraße name suggests, roads lined with cemeteries. The Romans buried their dead along the roads outside settlements, and excavations here have found hundreds of graves, stones and offerings. The site is part of the Danube Limes World Heritage listing.
Read the complete Enns - Gräberstraße write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 62 km into the recorded legs you reach Enns - Gräberstraße. Next is Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg.
4. Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg
Linz is a city that has reinvented itself. For much of the twentieth century it was known mainly for its steelworks and its uncomfortable links with the Nazi period; today it markets itself as a city of culture and technology, with the Ars Electronica centre glowing on the Danube bank at night, the Lentos art museum opposite, and a lively music scene. The Schlossberg, the castle hill above the old town, is where it all began: the Romans had a fort here called Lentia, part of the Danube frontier of the empire, and the Danube Limes is now on the World Heritage list. The castle that stands there now dates largely from the Renaissance, built for Emperor Frederick III, who spent his last years in Linz and died here in 1493. It houses a branch of the Upper Austrian state museum.
Read the complete Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg, about halfway. Next is Enns - Canabae Nordwest.
5. Enns - Canabae Nordwest
Enns claims to be the oldest town in Austria, and it has some evidence. The town received city rights in 1212, but people have lived here since long before that. The Romans built a legionary fortress on this spot, called Lauriacum, in the second century, and it was home to the Second Italic Legion, one of the units that guarded the Danube frontier. The civilian settlement that grew up outside the walls, known as the canabae, held traders, craftsmen and families, and the whole complex became a major provincial centre.
Read the complete Enns - Canabae Nordwest write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Enns - Canabae Nordwest sits at 111 km, about halfway. Next is back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg.
6. back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg comes up about 138 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Enns - Gräberstraße.
7. back through Enns - Gräberstraße
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Enns - Gräberstraße write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 163 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Enns - Gräberstraße. Next is back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.
8. back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm, late in the day. Next is Schlögen - Kastell.
9. Schlögen - Kastell
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Schlögen - Kastell 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 225 km.
Leg by leg
Schlögen - Kastell to Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
Schlögen - Kastell → Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm to Enns - Gräberstraße
Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm → Enns - Gräberstraße is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Enns - Gräberstraße to Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg
Enns - Gräberstraße → Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg to Enns - Canabae Nordwest
Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg → Enns - Canabae Nordwest is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Enns - Canabae Nordwest to back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg
Enns - Canabae Nordwest → back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg to back through Enns - Gräberstraße
back through Linz - Befestigung Schlossberg → back through Enns - Gräberstraße is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Enns - Gräberstraße to back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm
back through Enns - Gräberstraße → back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm to Schlögen - Kastell
back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm → Schlögen - Kastell is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.