The best road cycling routes around Raunheim

Beautiful country road where you can also race along (if there is no strong headwind).

Right next to the motorway is the small viewing hill. From its "platform" you have beautiful clear panoramic views, great.

The industrial site is the so-called Phrix-Werke (cellulose and paper mill). This factory turned the rather rural and small Okriftel into an industrial location with over 1,000 jobs in this plant alone. Founded in 1884/1885, the founders - the Offenheimer family - had to emigrate to the USA during the Third Reich. In 1970, the plant was closed (after being transferred back to the founding family, sold (among others to BASF)). Parts of this complex are listed as historical monuments and have been converted into condominiums, lofts, and shops for several years.

With a total length of 527 kilometers, the Main is the longest right-hand tributary of the Rhine and flows as a lifeline through the heart of the entire Rhine-Main region. It officially originates near Kulmbach in Bavaria through the confluence of its two source rivers, the Red Main and the White Main. On its westward journey, the river winds in characteristic loops through Franconia and Hesse, past major metropolises such as Würzburg, Offenbach, and Frankfurt, before finally flowing into the Rhine near Mainz-Kastel (opposite Mainz). For the region, the Main holds immense economic importance as a major shipping route, as it forms a continuous waterway from the North Sea to the Black Sea via the Main-Danube Canal. In addition to its industrial role, the river has been transformed over the past decades into one of the most important areas for local recreation and culture. Kilometers of green spaces stretch along its banks, such as the Frankfurt Mainufer or the promenades in Rüsselsheim and Höchst, offering space for sports, gastronomy, and relaxation. The popular, largely flat Main Cycle Path accompanies the river along its entire length, connecting historic old towns, wine regions, and modern cityscapes. Furthermore, the river significantly shapes the region's climate and nature and serves as a habitat for numerous protected water birds and fish species.

Historical Age: The bridge was built around 1877 (twelve years after the harbor opened) and is today considered one of the oldest still preserved swing bridges in all of Germany. For this reason, the steel truss construction is an important cultural monument under strict heritage protection. Technical Dimensions & Function: The structure has a length of 37.50 meters, a width of 4.50 meters, and weighs around 54 tons. The original mechanical rotation mechanism ensured for decades that the bridge could be swung to the side at any water level to allow larger ships to pass into the harbor basin. Modernization: After the historical rotation mechanism was irreparably damaged and jammed in 1996, the bridge was fundamentally reconstructed in 2009. The historical appearance of the top chords was preserved, while the outdated mechanics were replaced by a state-of-the-art hydraulic rotation system. Location & Significance: It connects the Stresemann-Ufer (Old Town side near the Hyatt Hotel) directly with the Victor-Hugo-Ufer on the upstream mole. Today, it serves exclusively as an important, highly frequented connection for pedestrians and cyclists and is an integral part of recreational routes such as the popular Mainzer Drei-Brücken-Weg.

The viewing bastion shows the Rhein-Main region with all its contrasts, its charming and its edgy aspects. The view sweeps over fields and meadows to the nearby low mountain ranges. In contrast, the A 3 motorway, with seven lanes, roars directly at the foot of the "observation post", and on the high-speed rail line next to it, ICE trains speed back and forth between Frankfurt and Cologne – and above them, jets circle. LANDSCAPE OF EXCITING CONTRASTS No one from the region would want to talk up Rhein-Main as being more beautiful than it is. Nor does anyone need to. Because here people are so self-confident that they not only accept the ambivalent appearance but even present it with the greatest conviction. The viewing bastion on the A 3 is an outstanding example of this. Anyone who, for example, looks out in spring over the blooming meadows and budding trees towards the slowly greening heights of the Odenwald or Taunus will hardly be able to avoid calling it idyllic. The path to the small hill itself is a feast for the eyes: since planting in 2003, the 1.5-kilometer-long avenue with a succession of oak, cherry, and sycamore trees has developed splendidly. To enjoy the idyll, one "only" has to block out the roar on the region's lifelines, the transport routes to the trading and banking city. However, the more than lively flow of goods and the constant coming and going of people have been part of the pulsating metropolitan region for centuries. This all-encompassing mobility underscores the location of Frankfurt Rhein Main in the heart of Europe. Anyone who has climbed the winding cobblestone spiral to the small platform of the artificial hill on the A 3 will certainly marvel at the nobly rusted Corten steel plates. These "sights" direct the gaze to the most striking points in the landscape. The Melibokus, at 517 m and with its very regular cone shape, clearly stands out from the Odenwald ridge. The Frankfurt Airport Tower appears just as clearly as the characteristic Frankfurt skyline. The elevations in the Taunus range present themselves as an impressive ensemble: Altkönig (798 m), Großer Feldberg (879 m), the nearby Kleine Feldberg (825 m above sea level), and – very close by – Kapellenberg (292 m) near Hofheim.

The Okriftel cellulose factory was founded in 1884/85. After its "Aryanization" in 1938, the Offenheimer family fled to the USA. In 1949, the factory was returned to the family and subsequently sold to Phrix-Werke. By 1951, the expanded production employed over 1,000 workers. BASF took over the plant in 1967. It closed three years later. Today, parts of the factory are used as workshops, offices, and artists' studios. The architect Georg Metzendorf designed the villa, the former administration building on Kirchgrabenstraße, which is a listed historical monument. In May 2008, a production hall and the acid tower along Rheinstraße were demolished to make way for a new supermarket. In the coming years, the site of the former factory is slated for development – primarily residential, but also commercial units – with the aim of preserving as many of the existing buildings as possible.

The Mainz South Bridge (also known as the Mainz-South Railway Bridge, and at times as the Mainz-Gustavsburg Railway Bridge) is a railway bridge on the Mainz–Frankfurt railway line, spanning the Rhine at river kilometer 496.4 and connecting Mainz in Rhineland-Palatinate with Gustavsburg in Hesse. A footbridge attached to the north side of the bridge allows pedestrians and cyclists to cross the river.