Windstallgraben - Wachtturm and Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Windstallgraben - Wachtturm

   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.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Windstallgraben - Wachtturm is where the day begins. Next is Zwentendorf - Kastell.

2. 2. Zwentendorf - Kastell

   The Danube flows broad and brown past Zwentendorf, a quiet village on the Tullnerfeld plain west of Vienna, and for once the most famous building in the area is not the oldest one. Zwentendorf is where Austria built a nuclear power station in the 1970s and then, after a national referendum in 1978, decided never to switch it on. The plant still stands by the river, complete and unused, now a training site and a curiosity.

   Read the complete Zwentendorf - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Zwentendorf - Kastell comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell.

3. 3. 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.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 59 km into the recorded legs you reach Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell. Next is Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld.

4. 4. Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld

   Vienna began as a Roman legionary camp, Vindobona, on a terrace above the Danube, and its streets still follow some of the old lines. The camp itself was in what is now the inner city, around Hoher Markt, and the canabae, the civilian settlement that grew up beside it, spread out to the west and south with workshops, taverns, houses and cemeteries. The Gräberfeld, the field of graves, lay beyond, as Roman custom demanded. The remains here are mostly underground and under pavements, which suits a city that has built on every layer of its past.

   Read the complete Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld, about halfway. Next is back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell.

5. 5. back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Zeiselmauer - Kleinkastell sits at 121 km, about halfway. Next is back through Zwentendorf - Kastell.

6. 6. back through Zwentendorf - Kastell

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Zwentendorf - Kastell write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Zwentendorf - Kastell comes up about 141 km into the recorded legs. Next is Windstallgraben - Wachtturm.

7. 7. Windstallgraben - Wachtturm

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Windstallgraben - Wachtturm write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Windstallgraben - Wachtturm closes the day.