A magnetic lifting device for bodies (Z) comprises an input transport device (10) for transporting lying bodies (4), a transport device (12) for transporting lifted bodies (9) hanging at the transport device (12) and arranged above the input transport device (10) and a control device (13). A first magnet arrangement (1) which is activated and deactivated by the control device (13) is arranged below the input transport device (10) in such a way that a body (4) lying on the input transport device (10) is magnetically held in a releasable way on the input transport device (10). A second magnet arrangement (2) is arranged above an area of the input transport device (10), in which the bodies are transported, and is formed in such a way that a body lying on the input transport device (10) is lifted by the magnetic field of the second magnet arrangement (10) when the magnetic field of the first magnet arrangement (1) is deactivated. A third magnet arrangement (3) is provided above the transport device (12) and is formed and arranged in such a way that a partially lifted body (4a) is lifted more and is lifted off the input transport device (10) and is transported in an upright position hanging magnetically at the transport device (12). The control device (13) is adapted to activate the first magnet arrangement (1) when a front edge of a body (4) lying on the input transport device (10) has passed the second magnet arrangement (2) and to deactivate the first magnet arrangement (1) when a trailing edge of this body (4) comes to lie below the second magnet arrangement (2).