Schlögen - Kastell and Enns - Gräberstraße

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 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. 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. 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 back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.

4. 4. 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.

5. 5. 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

   Back at Schlögen - Kastell. That is the ride.