Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo and Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
207 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 38
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.
A 207 km round trip from Burgsalach - roughly 3 h 38 in the saddle. On the way it passes Watchtower WP 13/54, Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a, Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 and back through Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 13/54.
2. 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 comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a.
3. Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a
In the fields near Wilburgstetten, in the west of Franconia, a low ridge runs across the landscape, overgrown with grass and bushes. It looks like nothing much, but it is the remains of the Raetian Limes, the stone wall that marked the frontier of the Roman province of Raetia in the second and third centuries. Unlike the Upper German Limes to the north west, which was mostly a palisade and ditch, the Raetian section was eventually built as a continuous stone wall, more than a hundred and sixty kilometres long. Local people later called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, believing it could only have been built by supernatural forces. The section between watchtowers here is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire 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 Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a. Next is Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68.
4. Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68
The Roman frontier wall known as the Limes ran for more than five hundred kilometres across what is now southern Germany, from the Rhine to the Danube, and near Aalen it passed through the Kocher valley and over the hills of the Ostalb. Along its length, watchtowers were built at regular intervals, numbered by archaeologists in sequence: WP 12/60 to 12/68 are a group of tower sites near Hüttlingen, mostly now visible as low mounds or reconstructed foundations. The Upper Germanic-Raetian Limes was inscribed by UNESCO in 2005 as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo to Watchtower WP 13/54
Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo → Watchtower WP 13/54 is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 13/54 to Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a
Watchtower WP 13/54 → Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a to Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68
Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a → Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 to back through Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a
Watchtowers WP 12/60 to 12/68 → back through Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a to back through Watchtower WP 13/54
back through Limessection between Watchtowers WP 13/5 a → back through Watchtower WP 13/54 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 13/54 to Watchtowers WP 14/29 to 14/62 including fo
back through 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.