Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 and Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
171 km
Riding-time estimate
3 h 46
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.
A 171 km round trip from Adelsheim - roughly 3 h 46 in the saddle. The stops in between: Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the, Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the, Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par and back through Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41
Somewhere between Walldürn and the hills north of Stuttgart, the Roman surveyors drew a line on the map and simply refused to bend it. For about eighty kilometres, the Upper Germanic Limes runs almost perfectly straight across hill and valley, one of the most remarkable feats of ancient surveying in Europe. The watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 near Osterburken and Adelsheim lie on that straight stretch, and like the rest of the frontier they are part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Most are now low mounds in fields and woods, but here and there you will find a reconstructed tower or a stretch of wall to give you an idea of what it looked like.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the.
2. Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the
For about eighty kilometres through northern Württemberg, the Roman frontier runs in a nearly perfectly straight line, ignoring hills, valleys and rivers as if someone had drawn it with a ruler on a map. Surveyors still argue about how the Romans managed it. The stretch with watchtowers 9/14 to 9/32, near Öhringen in the Hohenlohe region, lies along this remarkable line, and Öhringen itself grew from Roman forts, two of them, which guarded the frontier here. The line is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire, and the Limes trail follows it through fields and forests.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the
Mainhardt sits on a ridge in the Swabian-Franconian Forest, and the Roman frontier ran right through it, on its way south in one of the longest straight lines ever drawn across European landscape. Here, the Upper Germanic Limes runs for some eighty kilometres from Walldürn to near Welzheim almost perfectly straight, ignoring hills and valleys, as if surveyors had laid a ruler on the map. The watchtowers numbered in this section stood along that line in the forest, and Mainhardt had a fort, whose site is marked in the village, with a small museum.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 56 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the. Next is Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par.
4. Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par
In the Swabian Forest east of Stuttgart, the Roman frontier ran as straight as a ruler for some eighty kilometres, ignoring hills and valleys in a way that still puzzles historians. Welzheim lies on this straight stretch of the Upper German-Raetian Limes, and the town had two Roman forts, the west and east forts, with a civil settlement around them. The northern part of the settlement near the east fort is one of the components of the Limes World Heritage Site, and the Ostkastell has been turned into an archaeological park with a reconstructed gate.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 closes the day.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 to Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the
Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 → Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the to Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the
Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the → Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the to Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par
Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the → Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par to back through Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the
Welzheim-Ost civil settlement northern par → back through Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the to back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the
back through Watchtowers WP 9/70 to 9/99a including the → back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the to Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41
back through Watchtowers WP 9/14 to 9/32 including the → Watchtowers WP 8/31 to 8/41 is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.