Why this ride
261 km from Altenstadt to Altenstadt, about 3 h 29 of riding. On the way it passes Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl and back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl and Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 261 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 3 h 29
- 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
German Fairy Tale Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 67 km this is German Fairy Tale Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 67 km
- Named road
- German Fairy Tale Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl
Out here on the eastern rim of the Wetterau, between Altenstadt, Hammersbach and the Büdingen forest, the Roman frontier did something unusual. Having come over the Taunus and swung north around the fertile plain, the Limes turned and ran almost due south towards the Main, enclosing the Wetterau like a hand cupped around something precious. The towers numbered WP 4/82 to 5/8, along with small fortlets, guarded this eastern flank, and their remains lie in fields and woodland edges where only a shallow bank or a marker stone gives them away.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl is where the day begins. Next is Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt.
2. Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
On a low hill above Darmstadt, at the very end of the nineteenth century, the young Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse decided to gather artists and let them build a new way of living. The Mathildenhöhe became an artists' colony from 1899, and its buildings are some of the best Jugendstil, the German Art Nouveau, anywhere. UNESCO listed the ensemble in 2021. Joseph Maria Olbrich designed most of the first generation, including the exhibition hall and the tall Wedding Tower, with its fingers of brick at the top, finished in 1908 as a gift for the Grand Duke's marriage.
Read the complete Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt comes up about 67 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl.
3. Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
At Miltenberg, the Roman frontier did something unusual: it stopped being a wall and became a river. North of the town, the Main served as the frontier for some fifty kilometres, guarded by forts and watchtowers along its western bank, and here, where the river bends, the land frontier began again, heading south through the Odenwald. The watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 belong to this stretch, and while most are only traces in fields and forests, they are part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. The Romans built forts at Miltenberg, too, and some of their finds are displayed in the town museum.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 129 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl. Next is back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt.
4. back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl.
5. Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl 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 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl to Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl → Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt is 67 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt to Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt → Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl to back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl → back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt is 64 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt to Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl
back through Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt → Watchtowers WP 4/82 to 5/8 including fortl is 68 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.