Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell and Fort site of Burgsalach
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
211 km
Riding-time estimate
4 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 Kelheim it runs 211 km to Kelheim; allow about 4 h 06 of riding. It goes by way of Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets, Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz, Fort site of Burgsalach and back through Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz. It was put together for the scenery rather than the shortest line.
Scenic road chapters
Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell → Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 an
25 km through ground somebody thought worth listing. The road passes it rather than bypassing it — speed drops and stays down. Park rather than crawl through.
Chapter facts
Length
32 km
Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz → Fort site of Burgsalach
The ride follows Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz → Fort site of Burgsalach for 29 km.
Chapter facts
Length
29 km
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell
The Danube does something unexpected just upstream of Kelheim. Instead of wandering across flat Bavarian farmland, it cuts straight through a band of white Jurassic limestone, squeezed between cliffs that rise steeply from the water. This is the Weltenburg Narrows, and on the hill above the abbey at Weltenburg, at the spot called Am Galget, the Romans put a small fort to watch the river and the frontier.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell is where the day begins. Next is Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets.
2. Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
The Altmühl valley in Bavaria is one of Germany's best kept riding secrets, a winding river valley cut deep into Jurassic limestone, lined with juniper heaths, rock towers and castles. Near where the valley meets the Danube, the Roman frontier, the Raetian Limes, ran across the land, and the stretch of watchtowers and small forts numbered WP 15/11 to 15/26 lies in the wooded hills here, between Riedenburg, Dietfurt and the Danube town of Vohburg.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets comes up about 32 km into the recorded legs. Next is Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz.
3. Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz
Above the village of Pfünz, on a spur of white Jura limestone looking down into the Altmühl valley, the Romans built a fort they called Vetoniana. Today a reconstructed gate and a stretch of wall stand on the hilltop, and from up there you understand the choice at once: the valley floor curls below you, the river meanders slowly, and anyone moving along it would have been seen hours before they arrived.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 75 km into the recorded legs you reach Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz. Next is Fort site of Burgsalach.
4. Fort site of Burgsalach
The small fortlet at Burgsalach stood on the Raetian Limes, the eastern section of Rome's frontier in Germany. Dating from a late phase of the frontier, it had walls of stone and was compact and well defended, more like a small castle than the usual timber watchtower, and its name lives on in the village of Burgsalach nearby. The outline of the walls can still be traced on the ground, and like the rest of the frontier it is part of the UNESCO Frontiers of the Roman Empire. Here, in the hills of Middle Franconia, the Raetian Limes was not a palisade but a stone wall, which local legend later attributed to the Devil himself, calling it the Teufelsmauer.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell closes the day.
Leg by leg
Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell to Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell → Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets to Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz
Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets → Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz is 43 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz to Fort site of Burgsalach
Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz → Fort site of Burgsalach is 29 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Fort site of Burgsalach to back through Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz
Fort site of Burgsalach → back through Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz to back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets
back through Fort site and civil settlement of Pfünz → back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets is 42 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets to Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell
back through Watchtowers WP 15/11 to 15/26 and fortlets → Weltenburg‐Am Galget - Kleinkastell is 32 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.