Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich and Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
285 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 52
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.
A 285 km round trip from Tulln - roughly 4 h 52 in the saddle. On the way it passes Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus, Baden bei Wien, Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube and back through Baden bei Wien. The line favours views over speed.
Scenic road chapters
Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich → Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 27 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
Length
24 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich
The Nibelungenlied, the great medieval German epic, sends Kriemhild down the Danube to marry Etzel, king of the Huns, and has her meet him at Tulln, which says something about the town's importance on the river for centuries. Long before that, the Romans built a cavalry fort here called Comagena, and its walls still lurk beneath the town centre. The best survival is the Salzturm, a tower by the river whose lower parts are Roman, among the best preserved Roman structures in Austria. The fort is part of the Danube Limes World Heritage listing.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich is where the day begins. Next is Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus.
2. Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus
Klosterneuburg Abbey rises on a terrace above the Danube just north of Vienna, its baroque domes topped with an imperial crown and an archducal hat, and few visitors realise that beneath its walls lie the remains of a Roman fort. The Romans guarded this stretch of the Danube frontier, the Limes, with a chain of forts, and Klosterneuburg's position on a hill overlooking the river made it an obvious choice. The fort and the civil settlement around it are part of the UNESCO site of the Danube Limes, inscribed in 2021.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Baden bei Wien.
3. Baden bei Wien
The Romans already knew about the hot sulphur springs at Baden, just south of Vienna, but it was in the early nineteenth century that the town became the summer playground of the Habsburg court. Emperor Franz I spent his summers here, and the aristocracy and the wealthy bourgeoisie followed, building elegant villas, parks and bathhouses in the Biedermeier style. Beethoven came to take the waters too, staying many times and working on his Ninth Symphony in a house that is now a museum. In 2021, Baden was listed by UNESCO as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, alongside Bath, Baden-Baden, Karlovy Vary and others.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Baden bei Wien. Next is Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube.
4. Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube
Marcus Aurelius, emperor and philosopher, spent several years at Carnuntum during his wars against the Germanic tribes north of the Danube, and he is thought to have written part of his Meditations here; the third book carries the note that it was written at Carnuntum. In the second century, this was one of the most important places on the Roman frontier: a legionary fortress, an auxiliary fort and a civil town that grew into the capital of the province of Upper Pannonia, with tens of thousands of inhabitants. Today, the archaeological park at Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg shows reconstructed houses, a bath and streets built using Roman methods, two amphitheatres, and the Heidentor, a great ruined triumphal arch standing alone in the fields. The Danube Limes became a World Heritage site in 2021.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich closes the day.
Leg by leg
Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich to Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus
Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich → Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus to Baden bei Wien
Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus → Baden bei Wien is 52 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Baden bei Wien to Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube
Baden bei Wien → Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube to back through Baden bei Wien
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube → back through Baden bei Wien is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Baden bei Wien to back through Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus
back through Baden bei Wien → back through Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus to Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich
back through Klosterneuburg - Kastell und Vicus → Tulln - Kastell Zentralbereich is 24 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.