Watchtowers WP 4/72 to 4/73 and Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Watchtowers WP 4/72 to 4/73

   Behind the name is a number system, because the Limes archaeologists gave every watchtower a code. WP means Wachposten, a watchtower, and 4/72 means the seventy-second one on the fourth section of the frontier, the one that crosses the Wetterau. This pair of towers stands in farmland near Hungen, in central Hesse, and the Romans placed them on a gentle rise from which a watchman could see across the open plain and signal to the next tower along the line.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/72 to 4/73 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Watchtowers WP 4/72 to 4/73 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 78 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro.

3. 3. Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro

   Großkrotzenburg sits at a turning point of the Roman frontier. Here, on the Main east of Frankfurt, the river border that ran north from Miltenberg came to an end, and the Limes turned away from the water to head north across the Wetterau toward the Taunus. A fort guarded the spot, with a civilian settlement, and parts of its walls and gate can still be traced in the old town, where the fort's outline is marked in the streets. The site belongs to the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the local museum displays finds from the fort and the vicus.

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

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 145 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Grosskro. 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 4/72 to 4/73.

5. 5. Watchtowers WP 4/72 to 4/73

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/72 to 4/73 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 4/72 to 4/73. That is the ride.