Vienna is home to elevator enthusiast Christian Taus. He has an unusual hobby – he collects old elevator cabins. Christian has no professional connection to the elevator industry, but his passion for the “elevator” theme came about after a ride in an elevator from the imperial era. A month later, this fully functional historical elevator was subjected to cruel treatment by a dismantling company and was disposed of. It was like a blow to the heart, and Christian decided to search all of Vienna for the last old elevators. The race against time began.
In connection with the inevitable disappearance of beautiful wooden elevator cabins, Christian came up with the idea of ​​preserving one such original elevator to install in his own home.
Unfortunately, the companies that dismantle elevators do not care about accuracy. However, Christian managed to negotiate with some local elevator workers and was able not only to “extract” old elevators with minimal damage, but also learned a lot about elevator technology from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Christian and his four team members have been preserving elevators since 2010. Their collection usually includes elevators manufactured before 1914. The enthusiasts have successfully put two historic, disused elevators back into operation. One of them (built in 1901) is allowed to be maintained and displayed in a residential building as a working exhibit.
In 2015, Christian came up with the idea of ​​creating the Vienna Elevator Museum. Christian and his team decided not only to exhibit elevators, but also to bring them back to life – because it is not so much about technology, but about the emotions and experiences that arise when people get inside an old elevator.
He has a project for a café with elevators: a small coffee shop where visitors can enjoy a delicious drink while sitting in one of the magnificent elevator cabins. Currently, one of the imperial elevator cabins is housed in the Vienna café “Cometa”.
All current information about the elevator museum and the development of the elevator coffee project can be found in Christian’s blog www.aufzugmuseum.at.