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 20–45 centimetres per second (0.7–1.5 ft/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, 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 February 2013. 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. 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.
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