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All Sweden Stockholm Katarina Elevator
AO Edited

Katarina Elevator

This gem from the industrial age helps visitors and residents alike traverse hilly Stockholm.

Stockholm, Sweden

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CoolCrab
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The Katarinahissen.   Peter Haas/cc by-sa 3.0
The Katarinahissen.   Peter Haas/cc by-sa 3.0
Top of the elevator.   Holger.Ellgaard/cc by-sa 3.0
The Katarinahissen.   Holger.Ellgaard/cc by-sa 3.0
The elevator at night.   Holger.Ellgaard/cc by-sa 3.0
View from the lift.   BrightColours/public domain
The old lift, 1896.   Stockholmskällan/public domain
Up close in July 2022   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
Much prettier at night   stucker646 / Atlas Obscura User
Katarina Elevator   Luis Morato / Atlas Obscura User
July 2022. Still being renovated   Xavixavir / Atlas Obscura User
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About

Stockholm is not a flat city, so much so that you can easily get lost just trying to go to the next street, looking for hidden staircases and steep ramps.

Some attempts have been made to remedy this in the busier parts of town, the most iconic example being the Katarina Elevator, or Katarinahissen, a gigantic metal construction towering over passersby at Slussen, providing a much-appreciated shortcut between Katarinavägen and Mosebacke Torg.

The original lift construction dates from 1881, at which time it was an extremely modern way of traveling. Initially, it was powered by a giant steam engine, but was upgraded to an electric motor in 1915. Sporting the modernistic name "Elevatorn," the elevator drew many curious visitors. Roughly 1,500 people a day came to see the mechanical wonder during the first month of its opening, making the city a lot of money since a trip up or down cost 5 öre (about 2 dollars). 

The bridge to the elevator was seen as extremely valuable advertising real estate from the beginning, sporting ads for furs and other commodities. It was also the original location of the iconic animated Stomatol Toothpaste sign before it was moved to its current location. 

Over the years, the Katarinahissen construction became too weak to be used safely and eventually was demolished and replaced by the current lift, which resumed its operation in much the same way as before.

Related Tags

Machines Inventions Engineering Bridges Infrastructure Industrial Transportation Cities Urban Planning Elevators

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Added By

CoolCrab

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hrnick, jansmithartlover, Luis Morato, Xavixavir...

  • hrnick
  • jansmithartlover
  • Luis Morato
  • Xavixavir
  • stucker646

Published

December 17, 2018

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  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarina_Elevator
  • https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katarinahissen
Katarina Elevator
1 Stadsgården
Stockholm, 116 45
Sweden
59.319965, 18.073403
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