A paternoster in PraguePaternoster elevator in The Hague, when it was still in operation
A paternoster (/ˌpeɪtərˈnɒstər/, /ˌpɑː-/, or /ˌpæ-/) or paternoster lift is a passenger elevator, consisting of a chain of open compartments, each usually designed for two people, that move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building without stopping. Passengers can step on or off at any floor.
The same technique is also used for filing cabinets to store documents or for small spare parts, as well as for carpet and vinyl roll, or tyres, in storage/display/dispensing machines. The smaller belt manlift, consisting of an endless belt with steps and rungs, but no compartments, is also sometimes called a paternoster.
The name paternoster ("Our Father", the first two words of the Lord's Prayer in Latin) was originally applied to the device because the elevator is in the form of a loop and is thus similar to rosary beads used as an aid in reciting prayers.
Construction of paternosters was stopped in the mid-1970s out of concern for safety, but many examples remain. By far, most remaining paternosters are in Europe, with 230 examples in Germany and 68 in the Czech Republic. Only three have been identified outside Europe; one each in Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Peru.
History
British architect Peter Ellis obtained a patent in July 1866 for "an improved lift, hoist, or mechanical elevator" with two shafts and subsequently installed the first elevators that could be described as paternoster lifts in Oriel Chambers in Liverpool in 1868. This patent lapsed in July 1873. Another was used in 1876 to transport parcels at the General Post Office in London. In 1878, British engineer Frederick Hart obtained a patent on the paternoster. In 1884, the engineering firm of J & E Hall of Dartford, Kent, installed its first "Cyclic Elevator", using Hart's patent, in a London office block, and the firm is generally considered the company first involved in regular construction of the lifts.
The newly built Dovenhof in Hamburg was inaugurated in 1886. The prototype of the Hamburg office buildings equipped with the latest technology also had a paternoster. This first system outside of Great Britain already had the technology that would later become common, but was still driven by steam power like the British systems.[citation needed]
The highest paternoster lift in the world was located in Stuttgart in the 16-floor Tagblatt tower, which was completed in 1927. This was replaced with conventional elevators in 1959.[citation needed]
Paternosters were popular throughout the first half of the 20th century because they could carry more passengers than ordinary elevators. They were more common in continental Europe, especially in public buildings, than in the United Kingdom. These elevators are relatively slow, typically traveling at about 20–45 centimetres per second (0.7–1.5ft/s) to facilitate passengers embarking and disembarking.
Safety
Paternoster elevators are intended only for transporting people. Accidents have occurred when they have been misused for transporting large items such as ladders or library trolleys. Their overall rate of accidents is estimated as 30 times higher than conventional elevators. A representative of the Union of Technical Inspection Associations stated that Germany saw an average of one death per year due to paternosters prior to 2002, at which point many of them were made inaccessible to the general public.
Because the accident risk is much greater than for conventional elevators, the construction of new paternosters is no longer allowed in many countries. In 2012, an 81-year-old man was killed when he fell into the shaft of a paternoster in the Dutch city of The Hague. Elderly people, disabled people and children are most vulnerable.
In September 1975, the paternoster in Newcastle University's Claremont Tower was temporarily taken out of service after a passenger was killed when a car left its guide rail at the top of its journey and forced the two cars ascending behind it into the winding room above. In October 1988, a second, non-fatal accident occurred in the same lift. A conventional lift replaced it in 1989–1990.
In West Germany, new paternoster installations were banned in 1974, and in 1994 there was an attempt to shut down all existing installations. However, there was a wave of popular resistance to the ban, and to a similar attempt in 2015, and as a result many are still in operation. As of 2015[update], Germany had 231 paternosters.
In April 2006, Hitachi announced plans for a modern paternoster-style elevator with computer-controlled cars and standard elevator doors to alleviate safety concerns. A prototype was revealed as of February2013[update]. In 2009, Solon received special permission to build a new paternoster in its Berlin headquarters.
Surviving examples
This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.
Austria
In Vienna, the Vienna City Hall, the Ringturm (headquarters of the Vienna Insurance Group), an office building at Trattnerhof 2 near Stephansplatz and Haus der Industrie on Schwartzenbergplatz have the last four running and frequently used paternosters in the city. The university also had one or more.
In Klagenfurt, the Headquarters of the energy company Kelag still have one paternoster active for daily use.
Belgium
A paternoster lift dating from 1958 survives in Avenue Fonsny 47, Brussels, a currently disused office building forming part of Midi/Zuid railway station.
At the Huis van de Vlaamse Volksvertegenwoordigers (House of Flemish Representatives), previously the Postcheque Building, at Leuvenseweg/Rue de Louvain 86, the paternoster is operational but not used.
Czech Republic
In Prague, New City Hall – an early 20th century paternoster renovated in 2017. The lift was temporarily closed in April 2023 due to misuse by tourists.
In Prague, Czech Technical University – Faculty of Electrotechnical Engineering at Technická 2, Dejvice
In Prague, Czech Technical University – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Technická 4, Dejvice
the offices of the alt-left newspaper Neues Deutschland contain a working paternoster (as of 2025[update]), while those of the conservative tabloid Bild contain a 19-storey paternoster that is still in use but not open to the public. The Rathaus Schöneberg, including scenes with its paternoster elevator, were used to film the TV series Babylon Berlin.
the building at Kleiststr. 23–26 that houses Argentina's embassy contains an 8-story paternoster.
In the Siemens building in Berlin at Nonnendammallee 101 a paternoster is in use.
Berlin's Flughafen Tempelhof through at least 1967 (when it shared an identity as Tempelhof Air Base) had at least 1 fully-functional paternoster in the tower on the left end (as seen from the Luftbrückeplatz) of the quarter-circular pre-WW2 building.
In Hamburg, the building at 25 Deichstraße, Speicherstadt; the Bezirksamt at Grindelberg 62–66 in Eimsbüttel and Hapag Lloyd buildings in Balindamm street, the building at Stadthausbrücke 8, the Laeiszhof Building in Trostbrücke 1, and a hotel in Hannoversche Strasse 88a (Harburg, Hamburg) have Paternosters.
In Cologne, the building at Hansaring 97 has a working and in-use paternoster. There is also an in-use paternoster at Schanzenstraße 28 in Mülheim.
In Essen, the Deutschlandhaus in the inner city has a working and in-use paternoster.
In the Ministry of Education in Budapest (operating and in daily use in March 2022).
In Kiskun County Hospital, Kecskemét
ELMŰ-székház (headquarters) (Váci út – Dráva u. corner, Budapest)
Pesti Központi Kerületi Bíróság (Pest District Court) (Budapest, Markó utca 25.)
Tőzsdepalota (formerly MTV-székház (headquarters)) (Budapest, Szabadság tér 17.)
In Graboplast Zrt. (Győr, Fehérvári út 16/b)
Italy
In Fiat's Head Office Building, Mirafiori, Turin (Torino) [as of 1985].
Netherlands
In the Netherlands, seven paternoster lifts could be found in 2012, some of which were still operational:
In the former Ziggo building at Spaarneplein 2, The Hague: no longer in use. (Stork Hijsch 1922, conversion 1976 Starlift, damage repair 1999 Schindler.) On 13 April 2012, a fatal accident occurred when an 81-year-old man was trapped between the lift and the wall.
At the Dudokhuis, Tata Steel Europe in IJmuiden: shut down in 1999. (Eggers Kehrhan, 1957):
In the HaKa building (the old head office of the Coöperatieve Groothandelsvereniging 'de Handelskamer') on the Vierhavenstraat in Rotterdam. This 1936 Hensen-Schindler lift has been operational again since the end of 2011, although the building is empty. For safety reasons, the lift can only be visited with the building manager. The lift can be put into operation for interested parties on request.
In the former tax office on Puntegaalstraat in Rotterdam; it is put into operation during Heritage Days, but may not be used. To enforce this, gates have been built across the entrances. (Backer and Rueb Breda, 1948, conversion December 1975 by De Reus BV.)
In the former post office on the Coolsingel 42 in Rotterdam: disused.
Two examples in the Scheepvaarthuis (now Grand Hotel Amrâth Amsterdam) in Amsterdam: one is still put into operation on Sundays only. (Roux Combaluzier, 1928.)
In the old school building on the Mauritskade[nl] in Amsterdam: whether the elevator is still working is unknown. A working paternoster can be seen in the 1992 episode Still Waters of the television show Van der Valk.
Norway
In Oslo, Landbrukets hus, on Schweigaards Gate. The building was built in 1965 as the headquarters for Norges Bondelag, who vacated it in 2016.
In Košice, the Technical University of Košice operates a paternoster in the main building called L9 since 1972. There is another paternoster in an administrative building of U. S. Steel Košice, steel manufacturing company in Košice.
In Sweden there is at least one functional Paternoster lift at HSB-huset, Kungsholmen, Stockholm
Mäster Samuelsgatan 56, in central Stockholm, houses a multi-floor Paternoster lift.
Ukraine
One functional paternoster in the building of Zakarpattia Oblast Administration in Uzhhorod.
United Kingdom
Current
The Arts Tower at the University of Sheffield has a paternoster, which is said to be the largest on Earth. It has 38 two-person cars and serves 22 storeys. A journey between two floors takes 13 seconds.
The Albert Sloman Library at the University of Essex on the Colchester campus has a working paternoster which began operating in 1967. The lift was temporarily out of service for refurbishment between December 2019 and June 2021.
Aston University in Birmingham was operating paternoster lifts in the main building. These are no longer in use, but one is remaining and is visible on the 4th floor of the south wing. The lift cars are covered with a perspex wall, and some visual displays explain the story and operation of the lift.
On 8 December 2017 it was announced that the paternoster in the Attenborough tower at the University of Leicester which was constructed in 1968–1970 would be taken out of service as maintenance had become too expensive. This was undertaken shortly afterwards.
De Montfort University in Leicester had two paternosters - one in the former Fletcher Building and one in the James Went Building. Both buildings have since been replaced.
At the University of Birmingham, both the main library and the Muirhead Tower had paternosters. The library was demolished in 2017, and replaced with a new library. The paternoster in the Muirhead Tower was closed for many years before a major refurbishment added two new lifts.
Birmingham Polytechnic (now Birmingham City University) had a paternoster in the 1970s in the Baker building on its City North Campus at Perry Barr. The building closed in 2018.
There was a paternoster in the Co-op's six-storey Fairfax House department store, in Bristol's Broadmead shopping centre. The store opened in March 1962 and was demolished in 1988.
Leeds University in the Roger Stevens building (Lecture Theatre Block).
Newcastle University's Claremont Tower paternoster had a fatal accident in September 1975 after a car left its guide rail at the top of its journey and forced the two cars ascending behind it into the winding room above. Another accident in 1988 led to its subsequent closure and removal.
University of Glasgow. The Pontecorvo Building, which housed The Institute of Genetics, had a paternoster lift.
University of Salford Chemistry Tower had a paternoster lift. The building has been demolished.
Risley, Cheshire – Former United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) site, now Birchwood Park Business Park. The original management block 'A Block', and the later engineering building 'E Block' had paternoster lifts. Those in the former E Block (Chadwick House) survived into the 21st century (sealed off), and still exist in place. The adjacent ‘Y Block’ also had two sets; these are also sealed off.
UKAEA Winfrith Heath Dorset 4 floor Administration Building
GEC-Marconi Ltd, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire - a former research centre for defence software. The Paternoster lift was in use until 2001, when it was boarded up. The building and Paternoster lift were demolished in 2012. The lift appeared in the episode "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" of the 1967 British TV series "The Prisoner."
BNFL Sellafield had a paternoster in its administration building B403. Demolished in 2002.
Viscount House, a British Airways office building at Hatton Cross. During the early 1960s, the building was conjoined with the BEA apprentice school and was supposed to be out of bounds to students who naturally sought to explore the novelty of such ingenious technology. Your writer recalls the constant rumbling from the rollers and the abrupt stoppages triggered by deliberate attacks on the safety devices. Now demolished.
Unipart House, Oxford, had two of them. They were at each end of the building but were taken out due to the cost of maintenance. Bob Geldof and The Boomtown Rats filmed their video of "Love or Something" in them.
NatWest Bank at 55 King Street Manchester (opened in 1970 and vacated in 1998) had a paternoster over its 11 floors.
↑"PatList". flemming-hamburg.de. Archived from the original on 13 February 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2007.
↑"A New Description of Lift". The Architect. 2: 278. hdl:2027/mdp.39015014823804. Retrieved 3 January 2024– via HathiTrust. A lift has been invented and patented by Mr. Peter Ellis, architect, of Liverpool, which we may class as a person lift, but which differs from any other in the fact of its having two shafts instead of one, with several cages or chairs in each shaft, and in moving continuously up one shaft and down the other... the passengers entering or leaving without stoppage, although having the power to stop it in case of necessity... we give a description of the first completed specimen, which has been in use for some months in Oriel Chambers
