Published on: 3 January 2017 | Last updated: 21 August 2018
Cyclists on the Via Claudia near the Forggensee
At a glance
Distance
74 kilometres
Difficulty/terrain
Easy, although the terrain gets a bit more hilly as you approach the Forggensee.
Traffic
Predominantly on traffic-free cycleways.
Surfaces
Mainly on surfaced roads or cycleways. Note that there is a stretch of unsurfaced cycleway near Roßhaupten and the Forggensee.
The Via Claudia near Roßhaupten looking towards the Forggensee
Overview
In this section you are now getting closer to the Alps, and the views of the mountains open up. The wheatfields give way to alpine meadows and lakes.The main highlights are the beautiful Forggensee (lake) and the town of Füssen on the border with Austria.
Options
The Via Claudia connects with the Forggensee Runde, which, as you’ve probably guessed is a cycle route round the Forggensee lake. The Via Claudia heads for Füssen on the western side of the lake, but you can also follow the Forggensee Runde down the eastern side via Schwangau.
Map and altitude profile
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Distances
| Distances | |
|---|---|
| Landsberg am Lech – Lechbruck am See | 53 kms |
| Lechbruck am See – Füssen | 21 kms |
View of the Forggensee from Ulli’s Cafe
Route description
Epfach
If you’ve been thinking ‘so what about the Roman road?’ now’s your moment. As you come into Epfach look out on your right-hand side for a stretch of the old road. This is one of only two sections that are visible.
Epfach was the old Roman colony of Abodiacum built at the junction between the Via Claudia and the road between Bregenz and Salzburg. Its most famous son is Claudius Paternus Clementianus who rose to become a high-ranking official in the roman empire (among other post he was governor of Sardegna). There’s also a museum in Epfach.
Lechbruck Am See
The Via Claudia continues south from Epfach, through the outskirts of Schongau, to Lechbruck am See on the Lechsee. The Lechsee is beautiful, but a little bit upstaged by the larger Forggensee a little further on. Both lakes are man-made —the result of the damming of the Lech in 1954. The Forggensee is used as a giant reservoir to regulate the flow to the downstream hydro-electric dams. According to Wikipedia (de.wikipedia.org), when the water is low you can see a stretch of the old road. Picture: A section of the Via Claudia across the Forggensee. (Photo source: Wikimedia Commons).
Look out for the Via Claudia Augusta Kunst Park as you come out onto the road near Roßhaupten.
Via Claudia Kunst Park near Roßhaupten – Römer und Kelten by Josef Walk
Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau
Most tourists coming to Füssen are coming to see the Schloss Neuschwanstein (Neuschwanstein Castle) and the nearby Schloss Hohenschwangau (Hohenschwangau castle).
The castles were two of the pet projects of King Ludwig of Bavaria and were financed by the king personally, but in doing so he ran up huge debts and eventually provoked a sovereign debt crisis in which his ministers plotted to have him declared insane and ended with his death in mysterious circumstances. For more about the castles see: en.wikipedia.org: Neuschwanstein Castle and en.wikipedia.org: Hohenschwangau Castle.
The Schloss Neuschwanstein near Schwangau. Photo by Thomas Wolf via Wikimedia Commons
Visiting the castles
The castle receives 1.4 million visitors a year and in summer there are 6,000 a day. You can only buy tickets from the ticket office on the day. You can reserve tickets online at hohenschwangau.de, but you need to reserve the day before, if not before.
The castles are about 5 kilometres off the Via Claudia route (the D9 cycle route passes closer). My advice would be that if you want to see the castles it means staying a couple of nights in Füssen or around the Forggensee. While you’re in the area you might also do the Forggensee Runde which (as you’ve probably already guessed) goes round the Forggensee.
I decided that I would give the castles a miss. As the song goes, it was just too darn hot.
Füssen: Franziskanergasse
Füssen
Füssen is very pretty , but very touristy, and there are parts that are teetering on tacky. The VCA route bypasses the city centre which is mainly a pedestrian-only zone . I think it is worth a short detour – even if you have to push your bike through the pedestrian zone. To my mind the nicest parts were off the main drag and towards the the Kloster Sankt Mang (en.wikipedia.org: Sankt Mang Abbey Füssen) on the southern side of the city centre. As well as the Kloster itself there’s the richly decorated Heilig Geist Spitalkirche (Church of the Holy Ghost).
Füssen: Heilig-Geist- Spitalkirche
I don’t have any regrets about missing the castles but I am kicking myself for missing the Füssener Totentanz in the Annakapelle. The totentanz is a danse macabre (dance of death): the theme is that death comes to everyone and the series of painting starts with depictions of Death coming for the Pope and for the King and ends with Death coming for the painter himself).
Coming out of Füssen don’t miss the Lechfall a man-made waterfall built at the end of the 18th century. There’s a viewing platform, and a footbridge over the falls.
The Lechfall at Füssen. Photo source Wikimedia Commons
More information
Places to stay
Transport and services
Resources
Restaurant sign: Apfelstrudel Vanille eis (‘Truck Stop’ near Denklingen)
Articles in this series
- The Via Claudia in Germany and Austria: Overview
- Via Claudia Part 1: Donauwörth to Landsberg Am Lech
- Via Claudia Part 2: Landsberg am Lech to Füssen
- Via Claudia Part 3: Füssen to Imst
- Via Claudia Part 4: Along the valley of the Inn
- The Via Claudia in Italy: Overview
- Via Claudia Part 5: The Vinschgau
- Via Claudia Part 6: Algund to Trento
- Via Claudia Part 7: Trento to the Lago di Caldonazzo
- Via Claudia 8: San Cristoforo al Lago to Feltre via the Valsugana
- Via Claudia Part 9: the Valsugana cycleway to Bassano del Grappa
- Via Claudia Part 10: San Cristoforo al Lago to Feltre via the Passo Croce d’Aune
- Via Claudia Part 11: Feltre to Treviso
- Via Claudia Part 12: Treviso to Altino (and Venezia)
- Via Claudia Part 13: Trento to Verona and Ostiglia
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