Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the and Building remains southwest of Saalburg

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the

   In the hills of the Taunus north of Wiesbaden, the Roman frontier ran along the ridges through dense forest, and between watchtowers 3/15 and 3/19 near Idstein, its line can still be traced on the ground. The Romans built an earth bank and ditch, topped with a wooden palisade, with stone watchtowers at regular intervals, close enough to see each other and signal along the line. In the forest, the bank and ditch survive as a long, low ridge and hollow, and the foundations of watchtowers appear as low mounds, sometimes with a few stones visible. The Upper Germanic and Raetian Limes, more than five hundred kilometres long, has been a World Heritage site since 2005.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the is where the day begins. Next is Watchtower WP 3/38*.

2. 2. Watchtower WP 3/38*

   The Taunus is a range of wooded hills north-west of Frankfurt, rising to 878 metres at the Großer Feldberg, and it has long been the city's playground, with forests, spa towns and winding roads. Through these hills ran the Upper Germanic Limes, the Roman frontier that stretched for over five hundred kilometres across Germany, and one of its watchtowers, numbered WP 3/38, stood near the village of Glashütten, close to Waldems and Königstein im Taunus.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Watchtower WP 3/38* comes up about 24 km into the recorded legs. Next is Building remains southwest of Saalburg.

3. 3. Building remains southwest of Saalburg

   If you want to know what a Roman fort on the German frontier really looked like, the Saalburg is the place, and these building remains lie in the forest just southwest of it, part of the civilian and military landscape that grew up around the fort. The Saalburg itself was rebuilt at the beginning of the twentieth century on the orders of Kaiser Wilhelm II, who was fascinated by Roman history and keen to present the German empire as the heir of Rome. The walls, gates, headquarters building and granaries were reconstructed on the original foundations, based on the archaeology of the time, and today the fort houses a museum full of finds from the frontier, along with workshops, a Roman garden and regular events with reenactors.

   Read the complete Building remains southwest of Saalburg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 51 km into the recorded legs you reach Building remains southwest of Saalburg. Next is back through Watchtower WP 3/38*.

4. 4. back through Watchtower WP 3/38*

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtower WP 3/38* 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 3/38*, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the.

5. 5. Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Watchtowers WP 3/15 to 3/19 including the. That is the ride.