Watchtower WP 13/54 and Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
187 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 11
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
A 187 km round trip from Gunzenhausen - roughly 3 h 11 in the saddle. On the way it passes Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb, Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo, Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets and back through Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo. 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 Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb.
2. Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb
Under the modern town of Weißenburg, in Franconia, lie the remains of a Roman fort called Biriciana, and it holds one of the best finds of the frontier. The fort was built in the second century to guard the line of the Raetian Limes, and a civil settlement grew up next to it, and in the third century it had a bathhouse that is the best preserved Roman bath north of the Alps. The walls of the baths still stand to a good height, with the heating system, the changing rooms and the pools, and a modern building protects them. Next to the baths is a museum, which holds a hoard of silver and bronze objects found in 1979 during building work, including statuettes of gods that were buried in a pit, probably to hide them.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb comes up 29 km in. Next is Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo.
3. Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo
Between Greding and Eichstätt, the Raetian Limes runs across the high Franconian Jura plateau, and the names on the map, WP 14/63 to 14/78, are archaeologists' shorthand for a sequence of Roman watchtower sites along this section of the frontier. The Raetian Limes was the wall part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, inscribed by UNESCO as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Here, the Romans built a stone wall rather than the timber palisade used further west. Locals later called the remains the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, believing nothing human could have built it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
58 km in you reach Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo. Next is Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets.
4. Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
The Altmühl valley in Bavaria is one of Germany's best kept riding secrets, a winding river valley cut deep into Jurassic limestone, lined with juniper heaths, rock towers and castles. Near where the valley meets the Danube, the Roman frontier, the Raetian Limes, ran across the land, and the stretch of watchtowers and small forts numbered WP 15/11 to 15/26 lies in the wooded hills here, between Riedenburg, Dietfurt and the Danube town of Vohburg.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo sits at 117 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb.
6. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb
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 Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb
Watchtower WP 13/54 → Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb to Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo
Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb → Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo to Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo → Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets to back through Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets → back through Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb
back through Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb to Watchtower WP 13/54
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb → Watchtower WP 13/54 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.