During the Middle Ages, the Lions gate was the last bulwark faced by the attackers before accessing the lodgings of the Haut-Koenigsbourg castle. A small drawbridge spanned a final 40 ft deep (12 m) ditch. The counterweight mechanisms are still visible at the rear of the door. Above it, two lions surround the coat of arms of the Thierstein family. When the castle's reconstruction began in 1900, the ditch was filled up and replaced by a staircase leading to the Lions gate.