Watchtowers WP 5/9 to 5/10 and Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
315 km
Riding-time estimate
5 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.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Erlensee it runs 315 km to Erlensee; allow about 5 h 06 of riding. It goes by way of Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber, Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the, Watchtower WP 3/4* and Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
German Fairy Tale Route
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For about 35 km this is German Fairy Tale Route, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
Length
35 km
Named road
German Fairy Tale Route
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 5/9 to 5/10
The label gives only a pair of watchtower numbers, and the place itself is a swathe of flat country between Hanau and the Kinzig, where the suburbs of Erlensee, Rodenbach and Langenselbold have grown together into a continuous belt of houses, orchards and sports fields. In the second century the Roman frontier ran along this side of the Main plain before it turned south to the river, and the small towers, spaced at easy shouting distance, were the first line of warning. Nothing much remains above ground, and the nearby fort at Rückingen is known mostly from excavation. This is a stop for imagination rather than sightseeing.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 5/9 to 5/10 is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber.
2. Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber
Friedberg's castle stands on a basalt ridge above the Wetterau, a walled enclosure so large it is almost a town of its own, with a tall round tower, the Adolfsturm, rising above the trees. What most visitors walking through the castle gate do not know is that they are standing on a Roman fort. The legions chose this same ridge in the first century AD, and a fort with a civil settlement grew up here, linked by road to the Limes a few kilometres to the north and west.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
High in the Taunus hills northwest of Frankfurt, the Upper German Limes runs along the main ridge, and here, between Glashütten and Schmitten, a series of watchtower sites and the remains of a small fort follow the frontier through dense beech and spruce forest. The bank and ditch of the Limes are still clearly visible, winding over the hills like a long scar, and the area is part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site. Nearby, on the Kleiner Feldberg, lie the remains of a Roman fort, and a few kilometres east, the Saalburg near Bad Homburg is a fully reconstructed fort with a museum, the best place in Germany to imagine life on the frontier.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 76 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the. Next is Watchtower WP 3/4*.
4. Watchtower WP 3/4*
In the western Taunus, between Bad Schwalbach and Taunusstein, the forest is thick and the hills roll gently, and the Upper German Limes runs along the ridge here as a still visible bank and ditch. The site labelled Watchtower WP 3/4 is one of the many small posts along this section, and a few kilometres to the east, near Taunusstein-Orlen, the fort of Zugmantel guarded a crossing of the frontier on an old trade route into Germanic territory. These remains are part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site, and a walk along the Limes trail through the forest here is peaceful and atmospheric.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtower WP 3/4*, about halfway. Next is Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a.
5. Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a
Up on the plateau of the Hintertaunus, north of the Rhine gorge, the Roman frontier crossed a quiet landscape of fields and forest near Singhofen, and a section of it between two watchtowers survives here as a faint bank and ditch running through the woods. This is the Upper German Limes, which ran for more than five hundred kilometres from the Rhine to the Danube, marking the boundary between the Roman Empire and the free Germanic tribes from the second century until the Romans withdrew in the third. It was not a great wall like Hadrian's in Britain, but a line of watchtowers, forts and a timber palisade, later strengthened with a ditch and bank. Together with the Raetian Limes, it was listed by UNESCO in 2005.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 236 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber.
8. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 315 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 5/9 to 5/10 to Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber
Watchtowers WP 5/9 to 5/10 → Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber to Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber → Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the to Watchtower WP 3/4*
Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the → Watchtower WP 3/4* is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtower WP 3/4* to Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a
Watchtower WP 3/4* → Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a is 37 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a to back through Watchtower WP 3/4*
Limessection between watchtowers WP 2/13 a → back through Watchtower WP 3/4* is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtower WP 3/4* to back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the
back through Watchtower WP 3/4* → back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber
back through Watchtowers WP 3/45 to 3/52 including the → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber is 41 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber to Watchtowers WP 5/9 to 5/10
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Friedber → Watchtowers WP 5/9 to 5/10 is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.