The Via Claudia Augusta is the name of the ancient imperial Road, built 1st century BC by the Roman General Drusus and then finished by his son, the Emperor Claudius, in order to connect the Po River and the Adriatic harbors with Rhaetia (modern Southern Germany) and the plains of the Danube River. The project consisted of converting and upgrading a simple pack-animal trail in order to accommodate wheeled vehicles of the Roman army. It was finished sixty years later in 46-47 AD.
Today the Via Claudia Augusta runs through some of the most beautiful landscapes of southern German Bavaria, Austria’s Tirol and Northern Italy. It is popular bicycle and hiking path, which starts in Germany at the town of Donauwörth and goes in southern direction to Augsburg. The path proceeds via Füssen and Reutte (Austrian Tyrol) onto the Fernpass. Further south the path passes Imst and Nauders and finally reaches its highest point at Passo Resia. The Via Claudia Augusta enters the Italian South Tyrolean territory and passes Merano, Bolzano and Trento. Here the path splits: one section heads south to Ostiglia, a harbour on the Po River, while the other heads east to Venice. The first is historically correct, the second more popular.
The total length of the cycle path Via Claudia Augusta, with the Venice as destination, is approximately 902 km. The actual biking and hiking trail to Ostiglia is approximately 550 km and it takes approximately 30 days to hike and about a week to cycle it.
The quality of the Via Claudia Augusta trail varies according to the region. Some sections of the path are well paved, suitable for all types of bikes, while other sections are more suitable for mountain bikes. The route is entirely flat from the Danube to Schongau and travels through slightly hill terrain in Allgäu (Germany).In Tyrol, from the border to Germany to Imst, the path includes agricultural roads, village roads and gravel paths. Starting from Imst the course runs along the Inn cycle path. From the Finstermünzpass to Nauders and on Passo Resia the course is rather difficult and steep. In Tirol, the trail has easy climbs and descents through Zwischentoren, Gurgl Valley and Inntal Valley. An optional and special bus shuttles cyclists and hikers across the Fern Pass (1,215 m) and Reschen Pass (1,450 m).
There are currently 170 guest-houses/hotels designed to meet the needs of cyclists and hikers. A full list of the accommodation is available here.
There are a number of bicycle guidebooks on the route, all in German, and all available at Amazon.de. The only hiking guidebook is:
Hikeline Wanderführer Via Claudia Augusta
Publisher: Esterbauer GmbH
Language: German
ISBN-13: 978-3850005104
August 2010 - 240 Pages
The same publisher sells the following bike guidebook:
Via Claudia Augusta: Von der Donau über die Alpen an die Adria. Ein original bikeline-Radtourenbuch
Publisher: Esterbauer, Edition: 4 completely revised edition. (1 July 2009)
Language: German
ISBN-13: 978-3850001311
For more information, please visit the following website:
http://www.viaclaudia.org/
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