I am claustrophobic. I hate enclosed spaces – especially elevators. Whenever I have the chance – I try to take the stairs just to avoid being stuck in a metal death trap. It is worth noting that most American Elevators have an escape hatch – German ones do not. Just thought I would mention that here.
Good thing that the Paternoster Elevator doesn’t have doors – makes getting out or being squished to death so much easier. Despite being relatively dangerous and virtually outlawed, The Paternoster still haunts the German Republic, waiting for daredevils to put their bravery to the test. How convenient that Berlin still has some of these elevators running, so I decided to pay probably one of the most famous Paternosters – the one in Rathaus Schöneberg – a visit.
Origins of the Paternoster
*First built in 1884 by the Dartford, England engineering firm of J & E Hall Ltd as the Cyclic Elevator, 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.
Paternosters were popular throughout the first half of the 20th century as they could carry more passengers than ordinary elevators. They were more common in continental Europe, especially in public buildings, than in the United Kingdom.
In 1974, West Germany banned the instalment of new Paternosters. In 1994, the government wanted to push through a law to decommission all Paternosters but this was met with fierce popular resistance. The Bundesrat therefore changed to the proposed amendment, so that the existing Paternoster elevators (approximately 240 in Germany) could remain in operation.*
After an accident caused by improper operation, the Paternoster at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, is only allowed to be used by staff and students who have a Paternoster license – which is monitored by security personnel.
I remember riding a paternoster as a child in the Foreign Office in Bonn, the West German Capital – and I remember being terrified of stying in the lift too long and being flipped upside-down. Apparently Charlie Chaplin had the same fear. Now that couldn’t happen, but to be quite frank, until I looked it up for this article, I didn’t have a clue how they worked.
Off To The Rathaus Schöneberg
We headed down to the Rathaus Schöneberg on a Saturday morning, the wind was making the -6C sting even more, so much so that even the flea market vendors in front of the Rathaus decided to pack up their things and leave. We hurried inside and decided to have a snoop around the City Hall.
The Reason why the Rathaus Schöneberg is so famous is because when Berlin was divided, it was the seat of the West Berlin Government, and because John. F Kennedy held his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech on its balcony. Not only did Kennedy hold his speech here, but the Rathaus also hosts the Liberty bell – a gift from the americans as a symbol of the fight for freedom and against communism in Europe. With a diameter of 2,80 meters and weighing over 10 tons, it is the largest bell in Berlin. Every sunday at 12 it rings – and if you are ever so inclined you can listen to it ring on the Deutschlandradio Kultur.
As we wandered through the completely empty Rathaus – we passed through deserted hallways and walked by the room where Kennedy held a meeting (or so the sign said). For some reason though we couldn’t find the Paternoster. For a moment I was worried that they had been replaced, but no, turns out we just got lost in the gigantic empty building. We found a map which conveniently showed us where the paternoster was and scurried over.
So it seems like they decided to shut down the Paternosters here as well. I snapped a few pictures and continued strolling through the empty building – making the most out of the situation.
As mentioned above – the Rathaus Schöneberg hosts the Liberty Bell in a large tower. Theres an elevator which goes all the way up to the platform where you can have a look at the Bell and its inscription. Its closed. Back in 2009 when Tempelhof closed, they closed off the Tower (which is made of concrete and iron) because of “Fire saftey” reasons.
My Verdict:
So unless you really want to see where Kennedy held his speech, enjoy some weird 1960s design flashbacks and look at an elevator which doesn’t work (technically it does) then give this one a miss.
You are better of just going to the Stasi Museum, enjoy some interesting history AND see the Paternoster there as well.
The Paternoster / Rathaus Schöneberg Address
John-F.-Kennedy-Platz 1
10829 Berlin, Germany
Public Transport: U4 Rathaus Schöneberg
11 Replies
I used to work in a Prague office with a Paternoster that was shut down at weekends to save electricity… perhaps return on a weekday to see if it works then?
I like the sign saying it’s not dangerous to continue to the top or bottom of the lift – Czechs didn’t need to be reassured of this. I tried it, your cabin just gets looped sideways over the top of the chain. It’s like a squashed Ferris wheel, without views.
sadly the ones in the Rathaus are turned off for good as far as I know – but people really seemed to connect with the topic. Ive collected a whole list of places where there might be some working ones.
I laughed at all the warning signs as well – basically no one aside from youg men are allowed to use the lift, everyone else is banned.
The coolest Paternoster (still functioning) that I have come across is at the Landtag Schleswig-Holstein.
oh those look awesome! Its like a rainbow…
go get em all! http://goo.gl/maps/r4ogR
I visited the Stasi Museum today 24.10.2013 and the Paternoster was shut down. When i was in Leipzig a few months ago i visited a government building and there was a working one in there. Coming from Australia I had never seen one before at this stage and was absolutely amazed at the contraption. After 5 mins of getting on-and-off on different floors, I worked up the courage to do the return trip – shitting myself the whole way up though! It was just a smooth revolution across the top and back down again like on a big geared wheel.
Yeah they had to close it down – they used to let school classes use the one at the Stasi Museum, but in hindsight its probably better that they don’t anymore. I actually have a list somewhere of the still operating paternoster lifts in Berlin. I was invited to try one out at the Foreign Office last year which was quite fun. If youre still in Berlin, check out Haus des Rundfunks – its an amazing building and they still have an operational Paternoster http://www.haus-des-rundfunks.de/
As an Army Brat and a student at TAR in the late 1950’s our teacher took us on a field trip to the old Rathaus. The best fun was these elevators. Some of the boys chose to take the “roundtrip.”
Great post, the paternoster in Rathaus Schoneberg is still open to the public. I rode it earlier this year in the spring of 2014. I first tried to go to the Haus des Rundfunks, after reading your blog, but I was told that the paternoster is closed to the public. Next I took the ubahn to the Rathaus and was told it was closed for the day as I arrived after 5pm. The next day I went around 10am and rode the paternoster. It goes up around 4 or 5 floors, it was fun going up and down a couple of times without getting off.
One more paternoster in function: Statistisches Bundesamt Wiesbaden.
I got married at Rathaus Schöneberg last year (june 2015) and it was still working. I took my parents for a ride