Watchtower WP 14/28 and Water Management System of Augsburg
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
347 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 17
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 Pleinfeld it runs 347 km to Pleinfeld; allow about 5 h 17 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets, Water Management System of Augsburg and back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets. The line favours views over speed.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtower WP 14/28
Near the Franconian town of Pleinfeld, the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the frontier of the province of Raetia, crossed a landscape of woods, fields and small rivers, and a watchtower stood here, one of hundreds along the line. Watchtower WP 14/28 is now a low mound or reconstructed foundation, but it is part of the Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes World Heritage listing. The frontier here was a stone wall, known locally as the Teufelsmauer, the devil's wall, because medieval villagers could not believe that humans had built it.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 14/28 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets.
2. 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
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets comes up about 69 km into the recorded legs. Next is Water Management System of Augsburg.
3. Water Management System of Augsburg
Augsburg was a Roman town, a medieval free imperial city and the home of the fabulously rich Fugger banking family, but the thing that held it all together was water. Over the centuries, the city built an intricate network of canals fed by the Lech and Wertach rivers, water towers, pumping stations and fountains, supplying clean drinking water to the citizens and power to mills and workshops. The system was so advanced that UNESCO inscribed it in 2019, recognising twenty-two sites, from the water towers at the Red Gate, dating back to the fifteenth century, to the great Renaissance fountains dedicated to Augustus, Mercury and Hercules on the main street.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Watchtower WP 14/28. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtower WP 14/28 to Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
Watchtower WP 14/28 → Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets is 69 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets to Water Management System of Augsburg
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets → Water Management System of Augsburg is 105 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Water Management System of Augsburg to back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
Water Management System of Augsburg → back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets is 105 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets to Watchtower WP 14/28
back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets → Watchtower WP 14/28 is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.