The Gate Tower, part of the great fortification works of Ludwig V (building period about 1525 - 1541), was erected in place of a smaller gate-building which had stood between the Ruprecht Building and the Soldier's Building (Barracks). The tower, rising some 130 feet from the depths of the moat is the only building which remained almost untouched during the destruction of the castle in the years 1689 and 1693. Its deepest room is the old castle keep. The driveway is level with ground and could be shut by means of a heavy portcullis. The top storey was the home of the tower-keeper and it was here that the tower clock was kept. At one time there shown on the moat side, as can be seen from the outline of the indentation on the stone, a metal coat-of-arms of the Palatinate. Its splendid framework is notable on account of the striking "gate giants",armed as protectors of the entrance to the castle. In the style of this gate ornament there is already a mixture of the Gothic and "Antique".
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