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Details of the mechanism - how does it work?

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Being familiar with the paternoster in Leicester, I've often wondered how it works, but have never followed it up far enough to find out. What happens to the cabins as they go over the top (or bottom)? There is no vertical space between the cabins on the straight parts of the loop. If they are fixed to a belt, once they start to go around the end, the vertical speed should logically decrease. But it can't, because the cabins are already touching one another. That suggests it must "speed up" somehow.

The only diagram I could find is a Victorian one [1].

It appears that the drive belt is fixed to the outside of the cabins, while they are guided by a rail in the centre.

Does anyone know of a site with detailed diagrams of how paternosters work? If would make a good addition to the article.

--JRawle 21:53, 20 November 2005 (UTC)[reply]

The Victorian diagram is, in fact, very accurate. The only difference with more modern designs is that they feature a single piece of wood at the bottom of each cubicle, to cover the gap between cubicles. When reaching the top, the piece of wood slides in front of the entrance of the preceeding cubicle.

81.178.234.102 10:35, 8 April 2007 (UTC)[reply]

You're right, there must be a gap. However, I don't agree that the piece of wood "slides in front of the entrance of the preceeding cubicle." When I went "over the top" in the Attenborough Tower, I didn't see the piece of wood slide in front. Could it be hinged so that it remains in between the cubicles as it goes over? JRawle (Talk) 22:48, 2 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

And also, more specifications on how the system operates - how fast can they travel, power of the motors etc although this will vary from site to site. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.12.7.4 (talk) 11:24, 22 July 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Paternosters are very slow-moving - such that I was able to use one as a child. Any accidents wull be shown to be related to maintenance(lack of) and/or human stupidity, such as trying to carry a piece of lumber into the cabin. 70.49.18.153 (talk) 16:55, 14 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]


I really understood how it works only when I saw https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Paternoster_animated.gif (by User:RokerHROthat), that I found in it.wiki. Also this voice should use it, is there someone who wants do this work? carlon 151.35.123.139 (talk) 07:38, 30 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

"Five people were killed by paternosters from 1970 to 1993"

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Where? In Europe? USA? In the world? And who has been repsonsible for counting them? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.240.182.219 (talk) 12:14, 30 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Postgraduate student Radmila Lakicevic was killed in early October 1975 whilst riding the paternoster in Claremont Tower, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. See http://courierarchive.ncl.ac.uk/sites/default/files/1975-10-08.pdf page 4. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.143.62.76 (talk) 15:13, 28 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Materials handling

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Paternosters are quite commonly used to store items in a warehousing environment. I've worked in a good few places where they are used and actively referred to as paternosters, maybe not in the traditional sense of the word but this usage is certainly notable and common enough to be somehow included in this article.

http://www.kastentornado.fi/linkit.asp?Linkki=RATKAISUT&kieli=eng&Aihe=4&tuoteid=4&tuoteryhmaid=1&avaa=General

http://www.kardexinternational.com/international/materials-handling-solutions/megamat.html

http://www.logismarket.co.uk/vertical-carousel-industrial-paternoster-ipn/345914833-cp.html

http://live.constructor-storage.com/en/Products/Storage-Machines-and-WMS/Vertical-Carousell-PATERNOSTER/

--Lakkasuo (talk) 17:00, 12 April 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Claremont Building Newcastle

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As a Town Planning student at Newcastle in 1989. I used the Claremont Building lifts a great deal. The rumours about people injuring themselves in the lift were rife but I do not recall the lifts being out of order for lengths of time nor do I remember ever having a paternoster there out of service.

I would be very interested in seeing this reference to the Claremont Building being validated - does anyone have anything as I have googled to no effect. Very interested to see something written at the time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.172.119.95 (talk) 17:52, 4 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

The paternoster in Claremont was certainly out of operation for a whilst from October 1988, since there was a non-fatal accident in it that month. I was a student at Newcastle also and recall it was out of operation for some months 1988-1989 and was then replaced with a conventional lift by around 1990. See http://courierarchive.ncl.ac.uk/sites/default/files/1988-10-20.pdf. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.143.62.76 (talk) 15:18, 28 April 2019 (UTC)[reply]

I'd like to add that the paternoster was definitely in operation in 1980. I was a student there and used to regularly go "over the top" in it for a laugh. Excumbrian (talk) 21:40, 22 August 2018 (UTC)[reply]

contested list of remaining paternosters

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Section removed by editor as unsourced, moving to Talk page for further editing and citation. DMahalko (talk) 14:06, 17 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

It seems to have made its way back into the page, as "Examples". Jkshapiro (talk) 02:19, 1 December 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Surviving paternosters
Oldest Paternoster in Austria by Anton Freissler, installed in 1911
A paternoster in former East Berlin, still in use
A view from inside the above paternoster, showing the gap between floors

Numerous working paternosters are known to survive in Europe (this is an incomplete list):

===Austria===

  • City Hall of Vienna (at stairway 6 near the northern entrance) - Confirmed 5 Sept 2016. Accessible to public.
  • Trattnerhof 2, Vienna (left to the staircase) - Closed on 5 Sept 2016 visit; unclear if permanent.
  • House of Industry, Schwarzenbergplatz 4, Vienna (oldest paternoster in Austria by Anton Freissler) - Confirmed 5 Sept 2016. Accessible to public.
  • Federal Ministry of Economics and Labour, Stubenring, Vienna
  • Ministry of Defence, Rossauer Lände 1, Vienna
  • Federal Computing Centre, Hintere Zollamtsstraße 4, Vienna
  • Versicherungsanstalt für Eisenbahnen und Bergbau (Insurance institution of the railway and mining industries), Linke Wienzeile, Vienna
  • The Ringturm (Wiener Städtische Versicherung / Vienna City Insurance Headquarters Building), Schottenring 30, Vienna
  • KELAG Zentrale Klagenfurt, Arnulfplatz 2, 9020 Klagenfurt (Kärntner Elektrizitäts Aktiengesellschaft/Carinthian electricity supplier)

===Belgium===

  • A functioning paternoster can be found at the Flemish Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, where it is used as an art display.
  • Another paternoster can be found in a building of the Belgian Railways (NMBS) at the station Brussels-Zuid/Midi. It's still used daily.

===Czech Republic===

  • The Komerční Banka building on Václavské náměstí in Prague. (This is a working office and not open to the general public, but it can be seen from the main lobby).
  • The Municipality hall of Praha 1 (Vodičkova 18) has a working paternoster open to public combined with two classic lifts, one dedicated to baby trolleys and wheel chairs which are not allowed on the paternoster.
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prague
  • Faculty of Law, Charles University, Nám. Curieových 7, Prague
  • Czech Technical University in Prague on Dejvice , Technická 2, Prague
  • Within the Lucerna building in Prague, near the entrance from Štěpánská.
  • Office building of KAUČUK, a.s. in Kralupy nad Vltavou near Prague.
  • Ministry of Finance in Prague
  • Health center Building on Smíchov, Kartouzská 6, Prague
  • Ministry of Agriculture, Prague Florenc
  • CEZ (Czech Energy Corp) Jungmanova Street, Prague
  • City Courthouse in 2 Prague on Slezska, open to the public (after passing through security)
  • Trades Office (Živnostenský úřad), Malinovského Náměstí, Brno
  • A working paternoster can be found at the Faculty Of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology where it is being used by students and faculty staff.
  • Bývalý Krajský úřad Zlín (yellow building)
  • Office building of Spolek pro chemickou a hutní výrobu (Spolchemie) in Ústí nad Labem
  • New Townhall on Prokešovo náměstí in Ostrava, which are open to the public.
  • SZIF, Hradec Králové, Ulrichovo náměstí 810/4
  • Former Building of Rude Pravo Newspapers on Na Florenci street 19, Reception B, Prague 1 (about to be demolished, but occasionally working, for example during Krétakör's performance, during 2011 Praque Quadriennial)

===Denmark===

  • At the seat of the Danish parliament, Christiansborg, there is a working paternoster open to the public.
  • Frederiksberg City Hall.
  • At Danfoss Nordborg
  • At the Axelborg building right across from the Tivoli main entrance
  • At KVUC in Copenhagen
  • At The Danish Dairy Board in Aarhus.
  • At Horsens hospital, The hospital in the city Horsens, there is a working paternoster, but not open to the public.
  • At Vejle hospital, The hospital in the city Vejle, there is a working paternoster, but not open to the public.

===Finland===

===Germany===

  • Hamburg, Trostbrücke 1, in the Altstadt district (accessible during office hours - no groups and guided tours). A paternoster still in operation and open to general public is in the Bezirksamt Eimsbüttel (Grindelberg 62/66). Qype's former office building at Deichstraße 29 also has a working Paternoster. Kaiser-Wilhelm-Straße 16 (Publisher Axel Springer) offers at least one paternoster. Ballindamm 25 (shipping company Hapag Lloyd) still has one in use (not open to the public). Stadthausbrücke 8 (authorities ›Stadt-Entwicklungs-Behörde‹) uses a paternoster. Another one being in service can be found in Rathausstraße 7, entrance via Knochenhauertwiete, close to the town hall. Steinhöft 11 (office block ›Slomanhaus‹). There is also a paternoster in the St. Annen 2 building in the historic Speicherstadt, which is not in use at the moment.
  • The IG Farben Building in Frankfurt-am-Main. The current occupants of the building, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, have pledged to maintain and preserve the famous paternosters."In perpetuity"
  • Frankfurt, Fleming's Deluxe Hotel the paternoster provides service to six floors and the rooftop restaurant.
  • Stuttgart, town hall, Literaturhaus, Universität Stuttgart, Allianz Lebensversicherungs-AG (only for employees), Kaufhof (near main station (only for employees)), Robert Bosch GmbH (Stuttgart-Feuerbach — only for employees), Arbeitsgericht
  • Kiel Rathaus, or town hall. One of the best examples in Germany, it is 5 levels and it open to the public.
  • Kiel Landeshaus Kiel Building of the Schleswig-Holstein State parliament.
  • Essen Deutsches Haus.
  • Mannheim operations building of SCA (only for employees)
  • Leverkusen, some at Bayer AG's plant.
  • Dortmund, in the vestibule of the Signal-Versicherung building, situated by the junction between the Maerkische Strasse, and the Ostwall.
  • Dresden,[1] / Schnieder Energy (Ex AREVA T&D) building. For staff and authorised visitors only.
  • Duisburg, both in the city hall and the internal revenue offices.
  • Düsseldorf, in the older of the three Vodafone Global buildings. Currently out of use following an incident; In the Polizeipräsidium (Jürgensplatz 40219)
  • Cologne, in the IHK (Industrie- und Handelskammer/Chamber of Industry and Trade) Building (Unter Sachsenhausen 10-26, D-50667 Cologne, Hansahochhaus (housing Saturn, Hansaring, Maybachstraße 115, D-50674 Cologne), WDR HQ (Wallrafplatz 1, D-50667 Cologne (only for employees); Kaufhof (Hohe Straße 41-53, D-50667), Kaufhof Corporate HQ (Leonhard-Tietz-Str., D-50667 Cologne (not open to the public); Volkshochschule Building (near Neumarkt, D-50667 Cologne); Former Felten & Guilleaume Corporate HQ (Schanzenstr. 28, D-51069 Cologne-Mülheim, accessible public office building, 5 Stories); former downtown Bezirksamt „Dischhaus“ (Brückenstr., D-50667 Cologne);Bezirksregierung Köln (Regional Government Center Cologne), Entrance: Zeughausstraße 8 (D-50667 Cologne)
  • Berlin Foreign Office, Werderscher Markt 1; Finance Ministry, Wilhelmstrasse 97; Agriculture Ministry, Wilhelmstrasse 54; Axel Springer Building, Axel Springer Strasse 65; Bayer Schering Pharma, AG; ART+COM, Kleiststrasse 23-26, 10787 Berlin; (52°30′4.99″N 13°20′39.72″E / 52.5013861°N 13.3443667°E / 52.5013861; 13.3443667), rbb (Radio Berlin Brandenburg) Masurenallee 8-14; Rathaus Schöneberg, John-F-Kennedy-Platz; Siemens AG, Siemensdamm (in several buildings); Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Jägerstraße 22/23; Tempelhof Airport (serving the offices in the towers, not the public part of the airport).
  • Bremen, Baumwollbörse, Wachtstraße 17-24 (near Town Hall); Haus des Reichs, Rudolf-Hilferding-Platz 1
  • Wiesbaden, two still in operation in buildings in the industrial park "Infra-Serv Kalle-Albert", Kasteler Straße 45, not accessible to the general public
  • Leipzig, new town hall
  • Munich, Kaufhof am Marienplatz has a paternoster working for the staff. The building was erected in 1972, so it is one of the last ones ever in Germany. The Polizeipraesidium—the main police station—in the Ettstrasse behind the Frauenkirche has a paternoster, which is accessible to the public. One was in the old Sueddeutsche Zeitung Verlagsgebaeude; another in the Hochhaus an der Blumenstrasse. The German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA) has one which can be seen by members of the public entering the building. It is in regular use and probably can be tried out.
  • Kassel, headquarters of the Wintershall Holding AG, a subsidiary of BASF, not accessible to the general public
  • Wuppertal, in the town hall of Barmen and Elberfeld, in the headquarters of Vorwerk (not open to the public), and the fiscal office in Elberfeld
  • Augsburg, Finanzamt Augsburg-Stadt, accessible to employees and visitors
  • Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Ratshof
  • Krefeld, in the local tax office, it is still running and accessible for customers but not for tourists and one in the main building of the Hochschule Niederrhein

===Hungary===

===Italy===

  • Air Force Ministry, Rome

===Netherlands===

  • Paternosters are still in operation at the main office of the Corus Steelworks (formerly Hoogovens) in IJmuiden. This remarkable building (by Dudok, 1951) was restored in 1999.
  • The office building of Ziggo at Spaarneplein (formerly Main Post Office, architect D.E.C. Knuttel 1919) in The Hague also still has a Paternoster.
  • The Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam has a working Paternoster. The building, the Scheepvaarthuis, was originally built as the headquarters for the six leading Amsterdam shipping companies in 1913 forming the Netherland Line(architect J.M.van der Meij. This Paternoster is in working condition but not open for use by residents or staff due to safety restrictions.
  • The Philips High Tech campus in Eindhoven had a paternoster in operation until 2006.
  • The formerly Main Post Office at the Coolsingel in Rotterdam (architect G.C. Bremer, 1915).
  • The formerly Raad van Arbeid/Sociale Verzekeringsbank at the Rhijnspoorplein 1 in Amsterdam (1919). In operation until 2006
  • HaKa-building in Rotterdam (architects H.F. Mertens and J.Koeman, 1932). Operatable, but not for daily use, only for enthusiasts.
  • The formerly Belastingdienst at the Puntegaalstraat in Rotterdam (architect H.Hoekstra, 1938/1948). Working Paternoster; not in operation.

===Norway===

===Poland===

  • Katowice, the Silesian Parliament at Jagiellonska 25; 14 cabs, 7 floors; built by VEB Aufzugbau Leipzig
  • Katowice, office building at Wita Stwosza 7; 12 cabs, 4 floors; built by Flohr (1951: Flohr-Otis, 1989: Otis)
  • Wrocław, the head office of Bank Zachodni WBK at Rynek 9/11; 20 cabs, 10 floors, built when the city was part of Germany as Breslau; the paternoster is still in use, yet it is only available to the bank staff
  • Gliwice, office building of "Bumar Łabędy" at Mechanikow 9; 14 cabs, 8 floors; build before 1945 when the city was part of Germany as Gleiwitz, only available to the company employees

===Russia===

===Slovakia===

  • Ministry of Finance, Štefanovičova street, Bratislava
  • Ministry of Agriculture, Dobrovičova street, Bratislava
  • Ministry of Transport, posts and telecommunications, Nám. slobody, Bratislava
  • Ministry of Interior, Pribinova street, Bratislava
  • Office building at Popradska @ Moskovska trieda, Košice
  • Technical University of Košice
  • Chirana Export - Import, Krajinska street, Piešťany
  • Slovakotex, Jilemnickeho street, Trenčín

Removed and replaced in 2007 with a modern elevator:

  • The Railways of the Slovak Republic HQ, Klemensova street, Bratislava
  • U.S. Steel Košice Main Administrative Building

===Serbia===

===Sri Lanka===

  • Head office, Ceylon Electricity Board, Colombo. Not open to the public.

===Sweden===

===Switzerland===

===Ukraine===

  • Regional State Administration Building in Uzhhorod

===United Kingdom=== Some United Kingdom, multi-story, university buildings were built in the early 1960s and 1970s with paternoster lifts: they included buildings at Aston University; Birmingham University's Gisbert Kapp building (the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, completed in 1971), the Muirhead Tower, and the University Library); Birmingham City University's Baker Building; The Albert Sloman Library at the University of Essex; University of Leicester's Attenborough Building; Leeds University's Roger Stevens building, now closed, Salford University's Chemistry tower block, now demolished - although the paternoster itself was closed down in the late 1970s following a fatal accident at another UK university; Sheffield University's Arts Tower, Imperial College's Chemistry Department (removed in the mid 1980s), De Montfort University's Fletcher Building (now replaced with high speed lifts) and James Went Building (now demolished), Oxford University's Biochemistry building and Thom Building (housing the Department of Engineering Science), and Newcastle University. Until the late 1980s, St. Thomas' Hospital, Westminster had a paternoster for staff use, whiles one administrative building at AEE Winfrith had one until the late 1990s.

Paternoster at the Albert Sloman library at the University of Essex
  • The Arts Tower at the University of Sheffield contains a 38-car paternoster.[2] The building is a teaching block and is open to the public.
  • Attenborough Tower at the University of Leicester.
  • A seven floor Paternoster survives in E block at the Ericsson (formerly Marconi) site in Beeston, Nottinghamshire. Employees were banned from going around the bottom or over the top following an incident a few years ago, when abuse caused by a group of visitors shaking the car had caused the car to get stuck at the bottom. The lift has been out of action since November 2007, and is unlikely to be put back into service.
  • Rolls-Royce's seven storey tower block on Victory Road in Derby. The award-winning building housing this (designed by Rolls-Royce in-house architect Andrew Carr) has been demolished, and the paternoster scrapped.
  • Staff in the main ward building of Northwick Park Hospital, Harrow, London, have access to a paternoster in the main ward block. This is regularly maintained and is frequently used by staff instead of the nearby conventional lifts due to its speed in transferring between adjacent floors.
  • The Dental Hospital in Birmingham has one which used to be for staff use, until maintenance costs forced its closure in 2007.
  • In Scotland, a working paternoster serves seven floors of the Pontecorvo Building (former Department of Genetics) at the University of Glasgow. The building is not open to the public. A paternoster was installed there on construction, in 1966–1967 (by architects Basil Spence & Partners) because each floor has a small area and it was anticipated that staff and students would make many short journeys. This expectation has been fulfilled, and the paternoster is considered to have been a very valuable device. Occupants of the Pontecorvo Building are currently being relocated to allow its demolition.
  • There is a paternoster at Technology House, the headquarters of Boxclever, in Bedford, which was switched off on February 11, 2008 for health and safety reasons
  • There is a paternoster at Chadwick House, an office building at Birchwood Park near Warrington. Although covered over during re-refurbishments in 2005 due to maintenance costs, the paternoster is still operable if uncovered.
  • There is a disused paternoster at Marks & Spencer in Liverpool. The lift was used until the late 1990s and was covered up due to health and safety concerns and rising maintenance costs. It is still fully in place behind access panels.
  • There is a disused paternoster in Marks & Spencer Pantheon, London, which is covered up. It was still in use in 1992, but for staff use only.
  • There is a disused paternoster in the former Elliott Brothers research laboratories in Borehamwood, later renamed GEC, Marconi, and now the Elstree Business Centre. This paternoster was used in an episode of The Unmutual Prisoner, and taken out of service and covered up in 2001.[3]
  • There was a paternoster lift in the main building of Peterborough District Hospital for use by staff only.

References

  1. ^ Alstom Grid grid.alstom.com
  2. ^ "PatList". Flemming-hamburg.de. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
  3. ^ "The Unmutual Prisoner Locations Guide, GEC-Marconi Building, Borehamwood". Retrieved 2010-06-03.

Hitachi

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I declare the references 8 and 9, pertaining to Hitachi to be invalid due to the fact that they are in Japanese. Due to this, I cannot verify their veracity and I will remove them if there are no objections. Pablothepenguin (talk) 17:06, 13 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Please read WP:NOENG - a source is not 'invalid' merely because it is in a foreign language. AndyTheGrump (talk) 03:39, 14 June 2015 (UTC)[reply]

History / Examples : Daleks

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"A paternoster was used in the Dalek headquarters in the 1965 film Dr Who and The Daleks." Just out of curiosity I looked up the mentioned scenes in the movie and this is clearly not a paternoster rather than an elevator with open cabins. -- Miczac (talk) 20:32, 29 October 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Jacob's ladder

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I feel sure that I've heard this, perhaps 50 years ago, as an alternative name for paternoster, but cannot find a citation.

"And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it." (KJV Gen. 28:12)

The parallel is obvious. Narky Blert (talk) 18:19, 23 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]

"Jacob's Ladder" usually refers to a large rectangular trap door to an attic which opens to a set of stairs. 70.49.18.153 (talk) 16:51, 14 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

LSE Paternoster

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When I was at the London School of Economics (1979-82) we had a paternoster lift. There was much speculation about what would happen if you stayed in it at the top or the bottom. I never tried it!Bashereyre (talk) 08:14, 24 December 2018 (UTC)[reply]

You just go round and round. No one dies, they just dangle. But having been in one a few times in Leipzig after the Mauerfall, I figured that the name derived from the prayer that was needed every time. 2001:171C:2E60:D7E1:514C:891B:D8D7:C1DF (talk) 18:08, 19 December 2019 (UTC)[reply]
And if you want to freak out anyone watching on the topmost floor, do a headstand while the car is going over the top… Mr Larrington (talk) 13:02, 21 April 2022 (UTC)[reply]

De Montfort University / Leicester Polytechnic

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There were two paternosters at DMU, one in the Fletcher building and one in the James Went building. Both went out of service when the buildings were demolished in the 2000s. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.107.225.231 (talk) 23:24, 8 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Lots more Paternosters surviving ...

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Please see this list from the German Wikipedia. References can be found on that page, too. Since it's just a list of locations I don't think it needs a lot of translating. Plse. edit. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_von_Paternosteraufz%C3%BCgen 2600:1700:1C60:45E0:857D:F837:1900:6086 (talk) 16:12, 29 June 2019 (UTC)[reply]

On the other hand, this lists a paternoster in the "offices of bild" and one in the Axel-Springer-Haus. I am pretty sure they are the same, Bild being a Springer paper and having its offices in the Springer-Haus.2001:BB8:2002:2400:517D:1160:1DE5:A837 (talk) 19:25, 4 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Surviving examples/Austria

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"The university had one or more" doesn't say which university (I presume that Vienna now has more than one university) or which building, and doesn't appear to have any reference. TooManyFingers (talk) 15:25, 16 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]