Why this ride
From Murrhardt it runs 241 km to Murrhardt; allow about 4 h 23 of riding. On the way it passes Building remains of south of Pfahlheim, Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the and back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Watchtowers WP 9/100 and Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 241 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 4 h 23
- 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 9/100
The Limes in the Swabian-Franconian Forest has a quality that surprises people who expect Roman walls to follow hills: it runs in a dead-straight line, for kilometres at a stretch, regardless of what stands in the way. Near Murrhardt the line dives through woodland and valleys, and the signposted watchtower sites mark points where a timber and later stone tower stood on the frontier, with a ditch and a palisade or bank beside it. The numbering, with its slash, comes from the nineteenth-century surveyors who first mapped the frontier, and archaeologists still use it.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/100 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/100 is where the day begins. Next is Building remains of south of Pfahlheim.
2. Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
The name of the village gives the game away. Pfahlheim, a part of Ellwangen in the Ostalb, takes its name from the Pfahl, the stake line, which is what generations of farmers called the Roman frontier that ran through their fields. Here, at the edge of what is now Baden-Württemberg, the Upper German Limes and the Raetian Limes met, and the building remains south of the village are one of many small components of the UNESCO-listed Upper German-Raetian Limes. The frontier ran almost dead straight across this country for long distances, ignoring hills and streams in a way that still baffles people. There is very little to see on the ground today, perhaps a low bank or a signboard, but the line can be traced by eye if you know where to look.
Read the complete Building remains of south of Pfahlheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Building remains of south of Pfahlheim comes up about 62 km into the recorded legs. Next is Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the.
3. Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Here the frontier changes character. West of the Franconian lakes the Romans built the Raetian Limes not as a palisade but, in its final form, as a stone wall, a metre or so thick and perhaps three high, running across Middle Franconia toward the Danube. Medieval villagers who found its rubble in their fields had no idea who had built it and called it the Teufelsmauer, the Devil's Wall, which tells you how thoroughly the empire had been forgotten. The watchtowers numbered in this section sat along that wall in the farmland around Pfofeld and Gunzenhausen, close to where the line crosses the Altmühl valley.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 119 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the. Next is back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim.
4. back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Building remains of south of Pfahlheim write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim, late in the day. Next is Watchtowers WP 9/100.
5. Watchtowers WP 9/100
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Watchtowers WP 9/100 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 9/100. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 9/100 to Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
Watchtowers WP 9/100 → Building remains of south of Pfahlheim is 62 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Building remains of south of Pfahlheim to Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the
Building remains of south of Pfahlheim → Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the is 57 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the to back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim
Watchtowers WP 14/1 to 14/27 including the → back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim is 59 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim to Watchtowers WP 9/100
back through Building remains of south of Pfahlheim → Watchtowers WP 9/100 is 63 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.