5 Unusual Elevators To Visit Around The World

Elevators have a simple task: take passengers from one floor to another safely. But it doesn't mean that they have to be boring. Elevator towers for urban transport and modern design elevators attract great attention of tourists, because of its uniqueness, unusual looks and the driving experience. Let's have a closer look at the most unusual elevators around the world.

# AquaDom, Germany

The AquaDom in Berlin, Germany, is a 25 metre (82ft) tall cylindrical acrylic glass aquarium with built-in transparent elevator. It is located at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Berlin-Mitte. The DomAquarée complex also contains a hotel, offices, a restaurant, and the aquarium Sea Life Centre. The AquaDom was opened in 2004. It cost about 12.8 million euros. The overall construction of the aquarium was designed and built by International Concept Management, Inc.. The acrylic cylinder was constructed by the U.S. company Reynolds Polymer Technology. It is now the main attraction of the Berlin Sea Life Centre.

# Falkirk Wheel, UK

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Scotland. It connects the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. Named after the nearby town of Falkirk in central Scotland, the lift opened in 2002. The two canals it serves were previously connected by a series of 11 locks, but by the 1930s these had fallen into disuse. The locks were filled in and the land built upon. The difference in height of the two canals at the wheel is 24 metres (79 ft), roughly equivalent to the height of an eight-storey building. But the Union Canal is 11 m (36ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel, and boats must pass through a pair of locks to descend from this canal onto the aqueduct at the top of the wheel. The aqueduct could not have been positioned higher due to conflicts with the historically important Antonine Wall.

# Globen Skyview, Sweden

Skyview is a gondola lift built on the south side of the Ericsson Globe, Stockholm. The Ericsson Globe is currently the largest hemispherical building in the world and took two and a half years to build. Shaped like a large white ball, it has a diameter of 110 metres (361 feet) and an inner height of 85 metres (279 feet). The lift is 100 metres (330 ft), and consists of two spherical cabins, which gives the visitors an entertaining ride up to the top of the Globe, which is about 130 metres (425ft) above sea level.

# Hammetschwand Elevator, Switzerland

The Hammetschwand Lift is the highest exterior elevator of Europe and is located in Switzerland. It connects a spectacular rock path with the lookout point Hammetschwand on the Bürgenstock plateau overlooking Lake Lucerne. The hotel resort Buergenstock located at 847 meters a.s.l. (2.780ft) has been a popular vacation spot since 1872. Its attractiveness was enhanced by the spectacular path along the vertical rock face and by an outdoor open lift. To this day the lift and the path have lost none of their attraction.

# Bailong Elevator, China

The Bailong Elevator is a glass elevator built onto the side of a huge cliff in the Wulingyuan area of Zhangjiajie, China that is 1,070 feet (330 m) high. 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 environmental effects of the elevator have been a subject of debate and controversy, as the Wulingyan area was designated a World Heritage Site in 2002. Operations were stopped for 10 months in 2002-2003, reportedly due to safety concerns, not environmental ones.