Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo and Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen.

2. 2. Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen

   Ellingen is a small town that punches well above its weight. Its centre is dominated by a vast baroque palace built by the Teutonic Order, the German crusading knights who later became a religious and administrative order, and who ran a commandery here for centuries. The palace, with its church, courtyards and gardens, is far grander than you would expect in such a small place. Just outside the town, the Romans had an earlier presence: a fort called Sablonetum stood here on the Raetian Limes, with a civil settlement beside it, guarding the frontier as it crossed the countryside north of Weißenburg. Its outline has been marked in the fields, and it is part of the World Heritage site of the Upper German-Raetian Limes.

   Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen comes up about 34 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 13/54.

3. 3. 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.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 13/54 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 55 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtower WP 13/54. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb.

4. 4. 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.

   Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Fort site and civil settlement of Weissenb, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtower WP 13/54.

5. 5. back through Watchtower WP 13/54

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 13/54 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Watchtower WP 13/54 sits at 106 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen.

6. 6. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Fort site and civil settlement of Ellingen comes up about 123 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo.

7. 7. Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 14/63 to 14/78 including fo closes the day.