A paternoster (, , or ) 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.
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.
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 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. , 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 . In 2009, Solon received special permission to build a new paternoster in its Berlin headquarters.
Surviving examples
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.Saint-Gilles Gare du Midi et bâtiments annexes www.irismonument.be, accessed 1 October 2021 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 In Prague, Charles University – Faculty of Law In Prague, Ministry of Transport (Czech Republic) head office In Prague, Ministry of Agriculture (Czech Republic) In Prague, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Czech Republic) - head office at the Czernin Palace In Prague, General Financial Directorate at the former Mining and Metallurgical Company palace in Lazarská Street In Prague, Lucerna Palace (near the southeast entrance) In Prague, Czech Radio building (oldest paternoster lift in the Czech Republic, not publicly accessible) In Prague, YMCA building In Plzeň, municipal office – Škroupova 1900/5 In Brno, Brno Technical University – Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Technická 2896/2 In Brno, municipal office – Malinovského Square 624/3 In Most, Business centrum, tř. Budovatelů 2957 In the offices of Czech Post at Brno railway station, (returned to use in 2013, after being out of service for six years) In Jablonec nad Nisou, city hall built in 1933 In Ostrava, New City Hall built in 1930 In Liberec, Liberec Regional Office building build in 1971, highest paternoster in the country (56.8 m high and has 35 wooden cabins) In Zlín, Baťa's Skyscraper or Building No. 21 built in 1938 In Hradec Králové, EUC Clinic (used to be Polyclinic II), Bratří Štefanů 895/1, built in 1974
Denmark In the Christiansborg Palace where the Danish parliament resides At Vognmagergade 8. Today the building is used by KVUC – Københavns VUC (Copenhagen's adult-education center) In the corporate office building Axelborg, located in central Copenhagen In Frederiksberg Town Hall In the 11-story main administrative building at Danfoss headquarters on the island of Als In the hospital in Vejle In Sydvestjysk Hospital in Esbjerg In Regionshospitalet Randers
Finland
The following locations have paternosters: In Turku, Town hall in Yliopistonkatu 27 In Helsinki, in the office building at Hämeentie 11 In Helsinki, in the office building at Hämeentie 19 In Helsinki, at Eduskunta, the parliament of Finland at Mannerheimintie 30, accessible to staff only In Helsinki, in Stockmann, Helsinki centre at Aleksanterinkatu 52, accessible to staff only
Germany
In Kiel, the (the State Parliament building for the state of Schleswig-Holstein) has had a working paternoster since 1950. In Kiel, the city hall has had a paternoster in use for over 100 years. In Berlin, the offices of the alt-left newspaper Neues Deutschland contain a working paternoster (), 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 in Berlin paternosters are in use. In the German Academy of Sciences in Berlin another paternoster is in use. 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. The German Foreign Ministry in Berlin has a paternoster lift. Bremen has a paternoster in the Bremen Cotton Exchange, at Wachtstraße 17-24, just off the market square. 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 Frankfurt, the former IG Farben Building has running and frequently used paternosters as seen in the movies Berlin Express (1948) and Night People (1954). Today, the IG Farben Building is used by Goethe University Frankfurt; the still in-use paternoster is now located in the humanities library. In Frankfurt the Flemings hotel has an operational paternoster. In Jena, a paternoster is in use at the headquarters of Jenapharm. In Kassel, a paternoster is still in use at the headquarters of Wintershall Dea In Lippstadt, a paternoster is still in use at the headquarter of Hella/Forvia. In Wiesbaden, a paternoster is still in use at the Federal Statistical Office of Germany. In Wetzlar, a paternoster is in use at the headquarters of Leica Microsystems In Stuttgart, a paternoster is still in use at city hall (Stuttgart Rathaus). In Leipzig, a paternoster is still in use at city hall (Leipzig Neues Rathaus)
Hungary Gottsegen National Cardiovascular Centre, Budapest. In Jahn Ferenc hospital in Budapest. In Miskolc, the University of Miskolc, has a working and in-use paternoster. In the central office of National Tax and Duty Administration Budapest. In the MVM building in Budapest. In the headquarters of BKV Budapesti Közlekedési Zrt. in Budapest. (operating in 2020) 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: