The World’s Most Unusual Elevators
AquaDom (Germany)
The AquaDom in Berlin, Germany, is a 25-meter tall cylindrical acrylic glass aquarium with built-in transparent elevator. It is located at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin-Mitte.
The AquaDom was opened to the public in 2004. It cost about 12.8 million euros. The Aquadom is the largest acrylic cylindrical aquarium in the world, with a diameter of about 11 meters filled with 1,000,000 liters of water; it contains over 1,500 fish of 50 species.
Skyview (Sweden)
Skyview is a gondola lift built on the south side of the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden. The 100-meter lift consists of two spherical cabins, which gives the visitors an entertaining ride up to the top of the Globe, about 130 meters above sea level.
The project began in 2004 and opened in February 2010. 160,000 people rode during the first year of operation.
Hammetschwand Lift (Switzerland)
The Hammetschwand Lift located in Switzerland is the highest exterior elevator in Europe.
It carries passengers 153 meters up to the summit of the Hammetschwand in less than one minute.
Gateway Arch (U.S.)
The St. Louis Gateway Arch is an elegant monument to westward expansion in the US.
The trip in the tram to the top of the Arch takes four minutes, and the trip back down takes three minutes. The car doors have narrow glass panes, allowing passengers to see the interior of the Arch during the trip.
Santa Justa Lift (Portugal)
Since its construction in 1901, the Santa Justa Lift has become a tourist attraction for Lisbon as, among the urban lifts in the city.
The lift is decorated in a Neo-Gothic style in iron, which represents the culture of the 1900s.
Bailong Elevator (China)
The Bailong Elevator is a 326-meter high glass elevator built onto the side of a huge cliff in the Wulingyuan area of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China’s Hunan Province. It is claimed to be the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world. Construction of the elevator began in October 1999, and it was opened to the public by 2002.
The Bailong Elevator has set three Guinness World Records – World’s tallest full-exposure outdoor elevator, world’s tallest double-deck sightseeing elevator and world’s fastest passenger elevator with biggest carrying capacity.
Lacerda Elevator (Brazil)
The Lacerda Elevator is located in the city of Salvador De Bahia, Brazil.
The lift itself is one of the popular landmarks in the city. It transports some 900,000 passengers per month with duration of 30 seconds.
Mercedes-Benz Museum (Germany)
The elevators at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany are as much fun to watch rise and fall along tracks in the museum’s atrium as they are to ride.
The capsule-shaped elevator is considered to be a major feature for the museum. The trip only takes about 30 seconds
