Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 and Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
170 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 06
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 Singhofen it runs 170 km to Singhofen; allow about 3 h 06 of riding. It goes by way of Fortlet Adolfseck, Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP, Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 and back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
Scenic road chapters
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Civil settlement of Saalb
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 25 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
Length
27 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
A few kilometres west of Miehlen, the Limes crosses the Einrich, a high, open plateau of fields and meadows between the Rhine and the Lahn, and the stretch with watchtowers 2/20 to 2/22, near Singhofen and Holzhausen an der Haide, is one of the quietest parts of the whole frontier. Nearby, the fort of Holzhausen is one of the best-preserved Roman forts on the Limes, with its stone walls, gates and corner towers clearly visible in the forest, a rare sight on a frontier where most remains have vanished into the fields. The whole line is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 is where the day begins. Next is Fortlet Adolfseck.
2. Fortlet Adolfseck
The Aar is a small river that winds north from the Taunus towards the Lahn, through a narrow, wooded valley that has served as a route through the hills since ancient times. Where the Roman frontier crossed the valley near Adolfseck, today a district of Bad Schwalbach, the Romans built a fortlet to control the crossing, a small, square fortification with a garrison of a few dozen soldiers. The remains have been excavated and are marked on the ground, and the stretch of frontier nearby is part of the World Heritage frontiers of the Roman Empire. Above the valley, the ruins of a medieval castle, also called Adolfseck, add another layer of history.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fortlet Adolfseck comes up about 25 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
3. Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
On the western side of the Taunus, the hills are lower and the forest gives way more often to farmland, with villages in the folds of the valleys. Idstein, a small town with a remarkable old centre, sits on this side, with Waldems and Glashütten nearby. Through the woods above them ran the Roman frontier, and the stretch of watchtowers numbered WP 3/24 to 3/40 followed the ridges here, part of the Upper Germanic Limes and of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 54 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP. Next is Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456.
4. Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456
The Saalburg is the Roman fort that Germany rebuilt. On the crest of the Taunus north of Bad Homburg, where the Limes crossed a pass, archaeologists excavated the remains of a fort in the nineteenth century, and between 1897 and 1907, with the enthusiastic support of Kaiser Wilhelm II, it was reconstructed with walls, gates, barracks and a headquarters building. Today it is a museum and archaeological park, and the civil settlement, or vicus, that grew up outside the fort lies east of the B 456 road. It is part of the Upper German-Raetian Limes World Heritage Site.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 to Fortlet Adolfseck
Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 → Fortlet Adolfseck is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Adolfseck to Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Fortlet Adolfseck → Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 to back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Civil settlement of Saalburg east of B 456 → back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to back through Fortlet Adolfseck
back through Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → back through Fortlet Adolfseck is 30 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Adolfseck to Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22
back through Fortlet Adolfseck → Watchtowers WP 2/20 to 2/22 is 25 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.