Schlögen - Vicus and Wallsee - Kastell

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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

   Schlögen - Vicus 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 Wallsee - Kastell.

4. 4. Wallsee - Kastell

   Wallsee is one of those Danube villages that people cycle through on the long riverside path without guessing how much history sits under their tyres. A castle rises on a rock above the river, and beneath and around the village lie the remains of a Roman fort that guarded this stretch of the Danube frontier. It is part of the Danube Limes World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2021, which follows the river from Bavaria through Austria to Slovakia, a line of forts, watchtowers and towns that held the northern edge of the empire for centuries.

   Read the complete Wallsee - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Wallsee - Kastell, about halfway. Next is back through Enns - Gräberstraße.

5. 5. 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

   back through Enns - Gräberstraße sits at 125 km, about halfway. Next is back through Hirschleitengraben - Wachtturm.

6. 6. 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 comes up about 158 km into the recorded legs. Next is Schlögen - Vicus.

7. 7. 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

   Schlögen - Vicus closes the day.