Watchtower WP 1/84 and Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Watchtower WP 1/84

   Bad Ems is a small spa town in the winding valley of the Lahn, where the river cuts a deep trench through the hills of the Taunus and Westerwald. Its warm springs were known to the Romans, and it gained fame in the nineteenth century, when the Russian tsar, the Prussian king and the whole of European society came to take the cure. In July 1870 King Wilhelm of Prussia was walking on the promenade when the French ambassador approached him, and the telegram that described the encounter, edited by Bismarck for the press, helped push France into the war that led to German unification. The Ems Dispatch, as it is called, is one of the famous editorial acts in diplomatic history.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/84 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Watchtower WP 1/84 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 3/38*.

2. 2. Watchtower WP 3/38*

   The Taunus is a range of wooded hills north-west of Frankfurt, rising to 878 metres at the Großer Feldberg, and it has long been the city's playground, with forests, spa towns and winding roads. Through these hills ran the Upper Germanic Limes, the Roman frontier that stretched for over five hundred kilometres across Germany, and one of its watchtowers, numbered WP 3/38, stood near the village of Glashütten, close to Waldems and Königstein im Taunus.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Watchtower WP 3/38* comes up about 75 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro.

3. 3. Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro

   Großkrotzenburg sits at a turning point of the Roman frontier. Here, on the Main east of Frankfurt, the river border that ran north from Miltenberg came to an end, and the Limes turned away from the water to head north across the Wetterau toward the Taunus. A fort guarded the spot, with a civilian settlement, and parts of its walls and gate can still be traced in the old town, where the fort's outline is marked in the streets. The site belongs to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the local museum displays finds from the fort and the vicus.

   Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 142 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/38*.

4. 4. back through Watchtower WP 3/38*

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Watchtower WP 3/38*, late in the day. Next is Watchtower WP 1/84.

5. 5. Watchtower WP 1/84

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 1/84 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Watchtower WP 1/84. That is the ride.