In driving around southern Germany, I managed to see two components of the Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, dubbed as the longest monument in Europe at 550 kilometers long. The first one is Castra Vetoniana in Pfünz (Bavaria) and the other is the Double Fort in Osterburken (Baden-Wurttemburg). The weather forecast was not promising when we headed out for Ingolstadt. On the way, as predicted, it started to rain and we could only hope for that it would stop as we got nearer. Lying on top of a hill, Castra Vetoniana provides a commanding view over the village of Pfünz. Thanks to the rain, the parking lot was empty and so we had the whole site to ourselves. Luckily, after five minutes, the sky cleared up, and the structures were better revealed to us — indeed, a most pleasant introduction to the Limes!

As with most Roman cohort camps, Castra Vetoniana had defensive ditches and walls, as well as several buildings within. A section has been carefully reconstructed, allowing visitors to visually interpret the site. The recreated section comprises a tower, a gate, and the curtain wall that connects the two structures. We walked by the wall and then along the earthen trenches, reading a few information boards installed on the way. The patina-covered remains of the other three gates have been recovered and exposed for viewing too. It was also in Pfünz were I first saw a Römersäule (first photo), one of the nine historic stelas erected in the early 1900s, commemorating the initial interest made in mapping the Limes.

In figuring how to get to Maulbronn from Würzburg, my friend suggested a route that would pass through old towns. As I was not too keen on seeing more timber-framed houses, I took another look at the map and saw Osterburken instead, where I was drawn to more Roman ruins. Osterburken houses a unique double fort. It also has a reconstructed Roman watchtower and sections of its ditches on the side of a hill, and the views from our short walk from the parking lot toward it were delightful. Just like in Pfünz, we were the only visitors then.

The remains of the double fort in town, on the other hand, are probably the most authentic constructions dating back to Roman period. The outline of the Annex Fort is clearly visible as its foundations are still intact. The site of the annex fort was landscaped as a Limes Park, allowing locals and visitors to fully enjoy the archaeological site (with Children's playground) while preserving whatever remains of it. The adjacent main fort, however, lost almost all its structures as modern houses have long taken up the site where it once stood. Only the remains of the wall that it shared with the annex fort stands nowadays. There is a museum located a few meters away at a site of a former Roman bath. 

It is free to visit both sites, sans the museum.