Watchtower WP 13/54 and Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
231 km
Riding-time estimate
4 h 03
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.
231 km from Gunzenhausen to Gunzenhausen, about 4 h 03 of riding. On the way it passes Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo, Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7, Fort site of Eining-Unterfeld and back through Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtower WP 13/54
Gunzenhausen is a small town in Middle Franconia, on the Altmühl river, and the Roman frontier ran right through it. Watchtower WP 13/54 stood within what is now the town, and the course of the frontier is traced through the streets. It is unusual to find the Roman frontier in an urban setting, and it is a nice surprise as you wander the streets.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 13/54 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo.
2. Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo
Burgsalach is a quiet village of about twelve hundred people on the high limestone plateau of the Franconian Jura, and the old frontier of the Roman Empire ran right across it. This was the Raetian Limes, a different beast from the timber palisade further north. Here the Romans built in stone, and the remains of the wall, which locals long ascribed to the devil and called the Teufelsmauer, still show up as a low line in the fields and woods. The towers along it were numbered by archaeologists, which is why the label is a string of figures rather than a name.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo 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 66 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 13/54 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtower WP 13/54 to Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo
Watchtower WP 13/54 → Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo to Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7
Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo → Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 is 34 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 Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo
back through Watchtowers WP 15/1 to 15/7 → back through Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo to Watchtower WP 13/54
back through Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo → Watchtower WP 13/54 is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.