5

Cheating in the wings

The page boy in the Oscar-winning movie guides his guests to the entrance of Grand Hotel Budapest in a freestanding elevator. In reality the 50 meter high electric device transports visitors to the Ostritzer Scheibe (Ostritz disc) with its spectacular panorama. The arrival would have been even more exceptional if the investor and sponsor Rudolf Sendig had not only set up his „lovely cottages“ – prefabricated houses built by the company Witt in Osterwieck/Harz – but had succeded in building the planned „world sports ground“ with attached airship port. The project failed due to the devastations of World War I. The art nouveau railing of the elevator is particularly beautiful.