Why this ride
195 km from Waldems to Waldems, about 3 h 38 of riding. On the way it passes Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg, Watchtower WP 4/17*, Watchtower WP 4/37* and Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP and Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 195 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.
Scenic road chapters
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Fort site and civil settl
Speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through. 18 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 23 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
2. Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
If you want to know what a Roman frontier fort actually looked like, this is the place. The Saalburg, on the ridge of the Taunus above Bad Homburg, is the only Limes fort in Germany rebuilt in full: walls, gates, towers, granary and the headquarters building, all standing again on their original foundations. The reconstruction was ordered by Kaiser Wilhelm II around 1900, who liked his Romans grand and imperial, and while archaeologists today debate some details, walking through the main gate is still a jolt.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg 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 Saalburg comes up about 23 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtower WP 4/17*.
3. Watchtower WP 4/17*
The Limes crosses the Wetterau, the fertile plain north of Frankfurt, in a long arc, and Watchtower 4/17 is one small point in it. The Wetterau is loess farmland, rich and flat, with wide fields of wheat and sugar beet, and the Romans valued it as an agricultural region, planting farms and estates beside the frontier. The tower itself, as at most of these sites, is represented today by a low mound or a marker, and a short walk will let you see the line of the frontier running across the fields.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/17* 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 Watchtower WP 4/17*. Next is Watchtower WP 4/37*.
4. Watchtower WP 4/37*
Two names appear for this spot, and both belong to the same stretch of frontier that crosses the Wetterau near Butzbach. A watchtower numbered 4/37 stood here in the second century, one in a chain of tall lookouts built just behind the Limes palisade, with a view along the line to the neighbouring towers and out across the forest to the north, the land of the Chatti. Little remains today, a low platform of earth and some fallen stones, perhaps with a marker, but towers like this were the eyes of the Roman army, and their quiet watching was the daily business of the frontier.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/37* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 4/37*, about halfway. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the.
5. Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
The Wetterau is a broad, fertile basin north of Frankfurt, one of the best farming landscapes in Hesse, and the Romans fenced it with a frontier that ran in a wide arc through the grain fields. This group of watchtowers, with its numbers running from 4/59 to 4/71, lies near Hungen and Lich on the eastern side, where the plain begins to rise toward the Vogelsberg. Close by stands the Eichkopf fortlet, and a few kilometres to the north the ruins of the big fort at Arnsburg lie beside the remains of a Cistercian abbey, a double dose of history under tall trees.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 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 4/59 to 4/71 including the sits at 72 km, about halfway. Next is back through Watchtower WP 4/37*.
6. back through Watchtower WP 4/37*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/37* 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 4/37* comes up about 115 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtower WP 4/17*.
7. back through Watchtower WP 4/17*
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtower WP 4/17* write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 132 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtower WP 4/17*. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg.
8. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg 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 Saalburg, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP.
9. Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 195 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP to Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP → Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is 23 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg to Watchtower WP 4/17*
Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → Watchtower WP 4/17* is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 4/17* to Watchtower WP 4/37*
Watchtower WP 4/17* → Watchtower WP 4/37* is 16 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 4/37* to Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the
Watchtower WP 4/37* → Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the is 22 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the to back through Watchtower WP 4/37*
Watchtowers WP 4/59 to 4/71 including the → back through Watchtower WP 4/37* is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 4/37* to back through Watchtower WP 4/17*
back through Watchtower WP 4/37* → back through Watchtower WP 4/17* is 17 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 4/17* to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg
back through Watchtower WP 4/17* → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg to Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Saalburg → Watchtowers WP 3/24 to 3/40Watchtowers WP is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.