Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor and Baden bei Wien

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor

   A Roman fort is built around its gates, and the Kastentor at Zeiselmauer is where the road once entered the fort of Cannabiaca. Gates were the weak point of any fort, so they were guarded by towers and given heavy doors, and the roads that led through them were the arteries of the frontier. This gate faced the main road along the Danube, and soldiers, merchants and messengers passed through it for generations. The excavation of the gate gave archaeologists a close look at how the fort was built and how it changed over time.

   Read the complete Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor is where the day begins. Next is Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld.

2. 2. 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 comes up about 27 km into the recorded legs. Next is Baden bei Wien.

3. 3. Baden bei Wien

   The Romans already knew about the hot sulphur springs at Baden, just south of Vienna, but it was in the early nineteenth century that the town became the summer playground of the Habsburg court. Emperor Franz I spent his summers here, and the aristocracy and the wealthy bourgeoisie followed, building elegant villas, parks and bathhouses in the Biedermeier style. Beethoven came to take the waters too, staying many times and working on his Ninth Symphony in a house that is now a museum. In 2021, Baden was listed by UNESCO as one of the Great Spa Towns of Europe, alongside Bath, Baden-Baden, Karlovy Vary and others.

   Read the complete Baden bei Wien write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   about 61 km into the recorded legs you reach Baden bei Wien. Next is back through Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld.

4. 4. back through Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   back through Wien - Canabae West und Gräberfeld, late in the day. Next is Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor.

5. 5. Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

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

   Planning note

   Back at Zeiselmauer - Kastell Kastentor. That is the ride.