Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53 and Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
192 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 21
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.
192 km from Gunzenhausen to Gunzenhausen, about 3 h 21 of riding. On the way it passes Fort site and civil setllement 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. Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53
In the Altmühl country around Gunzenhausen the Roman frontier is a wall rather than a fence. Far to the west it was a timber palisade, earth bank and ditch, but from the edge of the Swabian Alb eastward the Romans replaced it with something sturdier, a stone wall that runs for many kilometres across Bavaria, which locals later nicknamed the Devil's Wall, the Teufelsmauer, because it seemed too big to have been made by men. The watchtowers numbered 13/51 to 13/53 belong to that stone-wall stretch, and they were small square towers of stone or timber that stood just behind the line, with a view over the valley and the next tower in the chain.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53 is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb.
2. Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb
Weißenburg in Bayern is the best Roman stop in this part of Franconia, and the fort here, known in antiquity as Biriciana, was a serious place. It stood on the Upper German-Raetian Limes, which UNESCO listed in 2005, and it held a cavalry unit at its height. Today you can walk the reconstructed gate and walls and then visit the Roman baths, which are among the best preserved in southern Germany and sit under a modern roof beside the old town. In 1979, builders found a hoard of bronze and silver objects buried in the fort's grounds, the Weißenburg treasure, which includes ceremonial armour, and it is now one of the key finds of Roman Bavaria.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb comes up 30 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
60 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 119 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb.
6. back through Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53 to Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb
Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53 → Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb to Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo
Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb → 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.
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 setllement of Weissenb
back through Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo → back through Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb to Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53
back through Fort site and civil setllement of Weissenb → Watchtowers WP 13/51 to 13/53 is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.