The Paternoster Lifts of Prague, Hop-On ‘Elevators of Death’ Without Doors That Run Continuously

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty visited the famous Paternoster lifts of Prague to see if they are really the “elevators of death” that some claim to be.

As it turns out, there are several advantages and a few disadvantages to these continuously circulating, open-faced elevators. The advantage is that you never really have to wait for a lift, as it comes rather quickly nor do you have to wait for doors to open, you can just hop off wherever you want; however it can be difficult to navigate as it moves pretty quickly and it has no doors.

These elevators used to be fairly common around Europe, but are really now limited to the Czech Republic, particularly Prague.

Paternosters — continuously circulating elevators without doors which passengers hop on and off of — were once common in Europe, but have now largely disappeared as a result of modernization or because of safety or accessibility concerns. The Czech capital, Prague, still has 28 working paternosters and an avid group of devotees.

Several People Have Tried These Elevators

Recent Limits on Riding

Valery of Real Prague Guides explained that the sudden popularity of the Paternoster lifts has caused the buildings to put limits on who can ride them and when. This was put into place due to tourist accidents.

One of Prague’s hidden gems, the paternoster lift, has become such a popular tourist attraction in recent years that some buildings in Prague started to install anti-tourist barriers. The main reasons for the barriers are tourist accident related.