Watchtower WP 13/50 and Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
233 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 58
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.
From Gunzenhausen it runs 233 km to Gunzenhausen; allow about 3 h 58 of riding. On the way it passes Fort site of Oberhochstatt, Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7, Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld and back through Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtower WP 13/50
In the middle of Franconia lies a string of lakes that did not exist fifty years ago. The Franconian Lake District was created by dams on the Altmuhl and other rivers, to hold floodwater and feed the Main-Danube canal, and the biggest of these lakes, the Altmuhlsee, lies right beside Gunzenhausen. Birds love it. The lake is a protected area for waders and ducks, and storks nest on the rooftops in the nearby villages.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 13/50 is where the day begins. Next is Fort site of Oberhochstatt.
2. Fort site of Oberhochstatt
Not every Roman fort on the frontier was a great stone fortress. Some were small, temporary or quickly abandoned, and the fort site of Oberhochstatt, on the high plateau above Weißenburg in Bavaria, seems to have been one of these, a modest garrison post on the Raetian Limes. There is little to see today beyond a field, perhaps an information board and the outline of the defences in the grass. But the landscape around is full of Roman history, and the town of Weißenburg, a short ride away, is one of the best places in Germany to experience it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site of Oberhochstatt comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7.
3. Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7
In Bavaria, the Roman frontier changed character. Instead of the wooden palisade used in the Upper German section, the Raetian Limes was eventually built as a stone wall, known locally as the Devil's Wall, because medieval people could not imagine anyone but the devil building something so long. The stretch between Watchtowers 15/1 and 15/7 crosses the hills around the Altmühl valley, near Kipfenberg and Kinding, and the line of the wall can still be traced in places as a low ridge in the forest. It is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 67 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7. Next is Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld.
4. Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld
Eining is the spot where the Danube Limes and the Raetian Limes meet, or more accurately the place where the wall and ditch ran down to the river and gave way to the water as a frontier. The Romans built a fort here called Abusina, on the south bank, with walls that can still be traced in the fields and a small museum nearby. For soldiers posted to the edge of the empire it must have felt like standing at the end of the world, with the river wide and cold in front of them and Germania on the far bank. The name Unterfeld refers to the lower field beside the fort, a plain, practical label for an ordinary piece of land.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 13/50 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtower WP 13/50 to Fort site of Oberhochstatt
Watchtower WP 13/50 → Fort site of Oberhochstatt is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site of Oberhochstatt to Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7
Fort site of Oberhochstatt → Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 to Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld
Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 → Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld is 54 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld to back through Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7
Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld → back through Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 to back through Fort site of Oberhochstatt
back through Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 → back through Fort site of Oberhochstatt is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site of Oberhochstatt to Watchtower WP 13/50
back through Fort site of Oberhochstatt → Watchtower WP 13/50 is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.