Why this ride
184 km from Miltenberg to Miltenberg, about 2 h 57 of riding. On the way it passes Fort Altheimer Strasse, Fortlet Lehnenwiesen, Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 and back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen. The line favours views over speed.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl and Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 184 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 2 h 57
- 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.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. 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
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl is where the day begins. Next is Fort Altheimer Strasse.
2. Fort Altheimer Strasse
Walldürn is a small town on the eastern edge of the Odenwald, where the hills of the forest give way to the open plateau of the Bauland, and the Roman frontier ran right through it. The Upper Germanic Limes followed a straight line here, and the town had a fort and a bathhouse, whose remains have been excavated and partly reconstructed. Fort Altheimer Strasse, named after the road where it was found, was one of the smaller installations along the line, part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site.
Read the complete Fort Altheimer Strasse write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort Altheimer Strasse comes up about 26 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fortlet Lehnenwiesen.
3. Fortlet Lehnenwiesen
Götz von Berlichingen, the knight with the iron hand, was born in Jagsthausen around 1480, and he is remembered for a rude phrase he supposedly shouted at an enemy, made famous by Goethe in his play about the knight. Jagsthausen's castle, where Götz grew up, hosts an open-air theatre festival every summer, and the iron hand, a prosthesis he wore after losing his right hand in battle, is displayed there. A few kilometres away, in the fields near Widdern, the fortlet of Lehnenwiesen was a small Roman post on the Upper Germanic Limes, part of the chain of forts and watchtowers that ran through this landscape.
Read the complete Fortlet Lehnenwiesen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Fortlet Lehnenwiesen. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68.
4. Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68
Between Öhringen and Mainhardt, the Upper German Limes does something a Roman engineer must have been proud of: it runs dead straight for many kilometres, up hill and down dale, ignoring the terrain as if drawn with a ruler on a map. The watchtower sites numbered along this section lie on that line, in the Hohenlohe country of northern Württemberg, between the open farmland around Pfedelbach and the dark wooded hills of the Swabian-Franconian Forest.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68, about halfway. Next is back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen.
5. back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fortlet Lehnenwiesen write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen sits at 119 km, about halfway. Next is back through Fort Altheimer Strasse.
6. back through Fort Altheimer Strasse
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Fort Altheimer Strasse write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Fort Altheimer Strasse comes up about 160 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl.
7. Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl to Fort Altheimer Strasse
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl → Fort Altheimer Strasse is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort Altheimer Strasse to Fortlet Lehnenwiesen
Fort Altheimer Strasse → Fortlet Lehnenwiesen is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fortlet Lehnenwiesen to Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68
Fortlet Lehnenwiesen → Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 to back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen
Watchtowers WP 9/36 to 9/68 → back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen to back through Fort Altheimer Strasse
back through Fortlet Lehnenwiesen → back through Fort Altheimer Strasse is 31 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort Altheimer Strasse to Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
back through Fort Altheimer Strasse → Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl is 26 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.