Watchtowers WP 9/33 to 9/35 and Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
294 km
Riding-time estimate
5 h 04
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: planning record, not independently verified geometry.
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Distances and riding times are planning figures. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Öhringen it runs 294 km to Öhringen; allow about 5 h 04 of riding. On the way it passes Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur, Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl, Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p and Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Watchtowers WP 9/33 to 9/35
Öhringen had not one but two Roman forts, known today as the Bürgkastell and the Rendelkastell, both on the Upper Germanic Limes, which ran past the town on its way south. The watchtowers numbered here were part of that frontier, and the town grew partly on the remains of the Roman settlement that clustered around the forts. Little is visible above ground, but finds are displayed in the local museum, and the line of the Limes can be followed on foot or by bike through the surrounding countryside.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 9/33 to 9/35 is where the day begins. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur.
2. Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur
Osterburken is a small town in the Bauland of northern Baden-Württemberg, and the Romans left it one of the most interesting fort sites on the Upper German Limes. The fort here was built in the second century AD, when the frontier was moved forward, and it had an unusual annex fort added later, with walls that ran down the slope toward the stream, making it one of the few double fort complexes on the Limes. Large sections of the walls have been excavated and conserved, and the Roman museum next to the site displays finds from the fort and the civil settlement. The Upper German-Raetian Limes became a UNESCO site in 2005.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur comes up about 34 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 79 km into the recorded legs you reach Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl. Next is Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p.
4. Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p
Niedernberg is a quiet village on the left bank of the Main, a few kilometres downstream from Aschaffenburg, where the river was the Roman frontier. The Upper German-Raetian Limes, after running across the Odenwald, used the Main as its boundary between Großkrotzenburg and Miltenberg, and a fort with a civil settlement stood at Niedernberg, guarding the river line. The northern part of the civil settlement is listed separately as part of the UNESCO site. There is little to see above ground, as the remains lie under fields and houses, but the location by the river makes the Roman logic clear.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p, about halfway. Next is Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12.
5. Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12
Between Hanau and the river Main, the plain is flat, fertile and dense with small towns, and it hardly looks like a frontier. Yet around the year 100 the Romans ran their Upper Germanic Limes down this way to meet the Main near Großkrotzenburg, with a palisade, ditch and a line of wooden watchtowers set at intervals of a few hundred metres. The towers on the maps are labelled by section and number, and WP 5/11 and 5/12 are two of them, neighbours in a long chain that once stretched across Germany for hundreds of kilometres.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p comes up about 181 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl.
7. back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 215 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl. Next is back through Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur.
8. back through Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 294 km.
Leg by leg
Watchtowers WP 9/33 to 9/35 to Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur
Watchtowers WP 9/33 to 9/35 → Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur to Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur → Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl to Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p
Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl → Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p to Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12
Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p → Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12 to back through Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p
Watchtowers WP 5/11 to 5/12 → back through Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p to back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl
back through Civil settlement of Niedernberg northern p → back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur
back through Watchtowers WP 7/1 to 7/36 including fortl → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur is 45 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur to Watchtowers WP 9/33 to 9/35
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Osterbur → Watchtowers WP 9/33 to 9/35 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.