CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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 259 km round trip from Dürnstein - roughly 4 h 09 in the saddle. On the way it passes Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell, Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube and back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell. The line favours views over speed.
Between Dürnstein and Mautern, a small gully called the Windstallgraben cuts down toward the Danube, and somewhere along its edge stood a Roman watchtower. The Wachau valley was once the frontier of the empire, and the Danube was the line. The Romans built a chain of forts and watchtowers along the south bank, and Mautern, ancient Favianis, was one of the strongest. The Danube Limes in Austria and Germany is now part of a UNESCO World Heritage listing, and these modest remains are part of that long, thin story.
Read the complete Windstallgraben - Wachtturm write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Windstallgraben - Wachtturm is where the day begins. Next is Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell.
Before there was a Vienna, there was a frontier. For some four hundred years the Danube formed the northern boundary of the Roman empire in central Europe, and a chain of forts, watchtowers and harbours kept watch along the south bank. Zeiselmauer, about thirty kilometres upstream from the modern capital, was one of them, and a stretch of Roman wall with a tower still stands in the village, incorporated into later buildings. The Danube Limes in Austria, Germany and Slovakia was listed by UNESCO in 2021.
Read the complete Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell comes up about 60 km into the recorded legs. Next is Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube.
Marcus Aurelius, emperor and philosopher, spent several years at Carnuntum during his wars against the Germanic tribes north of the Danube, and he is thought to have written part of his Meditations here; the third book carries the note that it was written at Carnuntum. In the second century, this was one of the most important places on the Roman frontier: a legionary fortress, an auxiliary fort and a civil town that grew into the capital of the province of Upper Pannonia, with tens of thousands of inhabitants. Today, the archaeological park at Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg shows reconstructed houses, a bath and streets built using Roman methods, two amphitheatres, and the Heidentor, a great ruined triumphal arch standing alone in the fields. The Danube Limes became a World Heritage site in 2021.
Read the complete Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 130 km into the recorded legs you reach Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube. Next is back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell, late in the day. Next is Windstallgraben - Wachtturm.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Windstallgraben - Wachtturm write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Windstallgraben - Wachtturm. That is the ride.
Windstallgraben - Wachtturm → Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell is 60 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell → Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Frontiers of the Roman Empire - The Danube → back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell is 70 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell → Windstallgraben - Wachtturm is 59 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.