When we walk past the Matthias Kraus monument and cross the bridge over the Little Danube (“Kleine Donau “), we will be standing in front of the Danube gate. Its ogival access leads directly to Kelheim downtown. Since guarding and controlling, two very important functions of the gate in medieval times, are no longer necessary today, the Danube gate now welcomes all visitors arriving in the south of Kelheim. Originally the first Danube Gate stood exactly on the place where the Otto Chapel (“Ottokapelle”) is located nowadays. Duke Otto II. had the chapel built for his father Ludwig the Kelheimer, who had been murdered on this very spot in the year 1231. In the 15th century, everybody transporting goods to Kelheim paid customs at the new Danube gate. Unfortunately, four little side-towers as well as a house that stood in front of the gate are not preserved. The two lions made of stone were attached to the gate in 1913 and came most certainly from the former castle of the Wittelsbach (“Wittelsbacherschloss”). In 1981, the original statues were brought to the archaeological museum and replaced by copies. The northern side of the gate shows Kelheim’s coat of arms used in 1493.
