Discover Paternoster Elevator in Prague’s City Hall with a new guided tour for 2025
The paternoster elevator in New City Hall in Prague has rightly earned a status of a hidden gem few years ago. Only, once everyone shared it on their social media, it become way to busy to the point when the elevator has broken down and had to be closed down. That was back in 2023, but since 2024 the paternoster is back in action, only this time, you need to book on a guided tour to get to see it and more importantly to ride it!
I’ve visited the New City Hall a few times and had the chance to ride the paternoster elevator here and also in other buildings in Prague. It’s fun, because the elevator never stops moving, and you hop on and off as it goes—it’s a super cool piece of living history and it’s great to experience it for yourself.
Why visit the Paternoster Elevator ?
Want to find out how nimble and how quickly you react? Well in that case, you should definitelly try to ride the historic paternoster! This elevator is made with a chain of open cabins that move very slowly in a continuous loop without stopping. You have to hop on and off while the elevator is in motion, which requires a bit of coordination and a good timing!
If that’s not enough reason to visit, you’ll also find out about history of the elevator and the building in which it’s been installed. There are only 10 people in the tour and it’s the only official way to try to rid the paternoster elevator in Prague.
What you should know before you visit
The tours of the paternoster elevator and the City Hall are only for those over 18 years old. The City Hall mentions, that this is because of heath & safety, but my gut feeling is that because the lift has been damaged before, when it was accessible to everyone for free, they just want to regulate the amount of people as much as they can.
The tour is also not suitable for people with mobility issues, as you’ll need to be able to enter the elevator when it’s moving. It’s not very fast, but you have to step in before the elevator floor moves away by 20 cm otherwise just wait for the next cabin to appear.
The other thing I should mention, that there is no strict rule about large bags and bulky luggage, so make sure you only bring with you a small handbag or very small backpack, that you should carry in front of you.
How to buy your tickets
The tour numbers are very small – there are only 10 tickets sold for each tour, so make sure you reserve your space well in advance. You can pop in to the New City Hall information office in the building on Marianske Namesti or book online through the official website https://prague.eu/cs/objevujte/nova-radnice-paternoster-tour/)
What is the best time to visit the paternoster?
It’s not so much about the best time to visit, it’s more about the only time to visit!
Since the tour will be taking you around the City Hall building and of course the paternoster lift, which is normally used by the staff, all tours are done after working hours. There are 2 tours each working day (Monday – Friday), but only one in English, which is at 5 pm. You can of course attend the Czech tour, which is at 6.30 pm, but it will be done in Czech Language and translation won’t be provided.
Is there no other way to see the paternoster elevator?
The organised tour is the only way to see and ride the paternoster elevator in the New City Hall. But few times a year, the New Town Hall organises open days – usually on important public Czech Holidays, such as the 28.10 or 17.11. On these days, the building is open to visitors, but no guided tours are taking place and whilst you can see the elevators, you won’t be able to use them.
The only other place I know that you can ride the paternoster elevator in the centre is at Lucerna to go to the top of the roof. But at the moment (2025) Lucerna roofs are going through a reconstruction and they are not open. When they re-open there is likely to be a entrance fee to go up to the roof, as there was before. I’m glad I went, when it was still open, it was pretty cool experience!
Practical information for visiting the Paternoster Elevator in the Prague New City Hall
How to get to the Paternoster Elevator
Location: Mariánské náměstí 2, Prague 1
The elevator is inside the Prague New City Hall which is on Marianske Namesti (Square). The nearest underground station and tram station is called ‘Staromestska’ and the Town Hall is less than 5 minutes walk from there.
It’s also very close to the Old Town Square, Klementinum Library and the historic Jewish Quarter, so you can easily plan your day in the centre of Prague and do the English tour at 5 pm. You have the famous Idiom Book Tower right acrross the square at the Municipal Library or you can take a self-guided tour of the Clam Gallase Palace right next to the Town Hall.
Opening Times
The town hall is not normally open to general public, but you can buy your tickets at the information desk inside the entrance of the town hall.
The building and the elevator access for tourists is only with the organised tour at 5 pm (English Language) or at 6.30 pm (Czech Language only) each working day.
How much does it cost to visit the paternoster elevator?
- Tickets
- 250 CZK adults
- 170 CZK students/senior citizens
- No under 18 permitted
The ticket includes ride in the paternoster elevator and is part of a guided tour that will take you around the New City Hall and also explain the technical workings of the paternoster elevator.
What does the New Town Hall tour includes?
The tour takes 45 minutes and has several stops. It starts in front of the building as the tour guide introduces the history and present of Mariánské Square and the exterior architecture of the New City Hall.
Once you are inside the building, you will walk up the grand staircase from 1911, which is partly clad in marble, peek into the large (representative) hall and the tour guide will also show you other historic rooms which are not usually open to the public.
And of course, you will have the opportunity to take a ride in the paternoster elevator. You will also find out more about the technical set up of the elevator, learn about the principle of the elevator cabins’ movement, and discover that the elevator cabins do not flip over when the reach the top of the bottom floor.
Where does the name come from?
The unusual name of ‘Paternoster’ comes from the Latin phrase for “Our Father” and this is apparently because the elevator cabins go round in continuous loop resembling the originall religious prayer looped rope with knots, which was called ‘paternoster’. Rosary was later developed from the ‘paternoster’ string, when beeds or seeds were used instead of the knots.
Paternoster Lifts History
The history of paternoster elevators dates back to the late 19th century when one of the first elevators of this type appeared in London.
These lifts become very popular in the early to mid-20th century because they were super efficient in transporting people quickly between floors in office buildings and public institutions.
But, their production ceased in the 1970s because of safety concerns, as the open design means that you need to step in and step off, while the lift is moving. Despite this, there are still few remaining paternosters in Prague, that have been preserved and are regularly being used.
These are mainly in private buildings, such as the New City Hall, Lucerna building at Wenceslas Square or the former building of the Electrical Prague Companies in Holesovice.
I found out that there are around 28 different buildings in Prague, where the paternoster lifts are still in working order. These elevators are mainly in goverment buildings and as such not accessible to general public.
The paternoster in the New City Hall building is the very first elevator of this type in the Czech Republic and dates back to 1911.
Sadly, the current paternoster lift is not the original one. In the 1970s, the paternoster was replaced by a new circulating elevator, which underwent a three-month general overhaul in 2017 and now in 2023. The renovation included all cabins, electrical installations, safety systems, and the elevator machine room, costing over 3.5 million CZK.
This paternoster lift was once a popular free attraction for tourists in Prague, but unfortunatelly it got damaged and stopped working. In 2023/24 the New Town Hall repaired the paternoster lift and decided to open it up only as a part of a guided tour, which introduces both the elevator and the entire New City Hall building.
The New Town Hall – the building where you can see the paternoster elevator
New City Hall was built between 1908 and 1911 and is the work of architect Osvald Polívka. Sculptors Stanislav Sucharda, Josef Mařatka, and Ladislav Šaloun also worked on the decorating the building with sculptures and wall decor.
For example on each side of the building entrance, you will find two sculptures by Ladislav Šaloun – Rabbi Löw ben Bezalel (according to legend, the creator of the miraculous Golem in Jewish Quarter) and the Iron Knight.
The building was originally used as a financial and tax department, but when the main wing of the Old City Hall was destroyed in May 1945, the whole Prague Town Hall department has moved in.
The New City Hall building was the very first in Prague to be equipped with paternoster elevators.
This blog post was originally written on 28 October 2024 and last updated on 28 October 2024
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