Xanten-Fürstenberg and Kleve-Reichswald | East

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Xanten-Fürstenberg

   The Fürstenberg is a low hill on the edge of the Lower Rhine plain, just south of Xanten, and two thousand years ago it was one of the most important military bases in the Roman Empire. Here the Romans built Vetera, a legionary fortress that housed up to two legions and served as a springboard for campaigns into Germania under Augustus. In AD 69 and 70, during the Batavian revolt, Vetera was besieged, starved into surrender and destroyed, and a new fortress was built nearby. The site on the Fürstenberg is part of the Lower German Limes, the Roman frontier along the Rhine from the Alps to the North Sea, which was added to the World Heritage list in 2021. On the ground there is little to see, mostly fields and woods, but the elevated position, with views over the river plain, explains why the Romans chose it.

   Read the complete Xanten-Fürstenberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Xanten-Fürstenberg is where the day begins. Next is Kalkar-Bornsches Feld.

2. 2. Kalkar-Bornsches Feld

   Kalkar sits on a low terrace a few kilometres from the Rhine, close to the Dutch border, and everything about the landscape here is flat, wide and bright. The label points to the Bornsches Feld, a field on the edge of town that belongs to the Roman Lower Germanic Limes, the frontier that followed the Rhine itself rather than a wall or a palisade. UNESCO added the whole line to its list in 2021. Here, as elsewhere along the lower river, the Roman forts and camps stood on the river bank, the water served as the barrier, and what remains today is mostly in the ground and in the museums of Xanten, a little way up the Rhine.

   Read the complete Kalkar-Bornsches Feld write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Kalkar-Bornsches Feld comes up about 16 km into the recorded legs. Next is Kleve-Reichswald | East.

3. 3. Kleve-Reichswald | East

   South of Kleve, near the Dutch border, the Reichswald is one of the largest forests in the Lower Rhine region, a mix of oak, beech and pine on a low ridge of sand and gravel left behind by the glaciers of the Ice Age. On its edge, the Romans built military installations as part of the Lower German Limes, the frontier along the Rhine, and the remains in the Reichswald, including traces of camps, are part of the World Heritage site listed by UNESCO in 2021. There is little to see above ground, but the forest itself is a quiet, beautiful place to walk.

   Read the complete Kleve-Reichswald | East write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 35 km into the recorded legs you reach Kleve-Reichswald | East. Next is back through Kalkar-Bornsches Feld.

4. 4. back through Kalkar-Bornsches Feld

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Kalkar-Bornsches Feld write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   back through Kalkar-Bornsches Feld, late in the day. Next is Xanten-Fürstenberg.

5. 5. Xanten-Fürstenberg

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Xanten-Fürstenberg write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Xanten-Fürstenberg. That is the ride.