A winch is disclosed which includes at least one rope drum about which a rope is slung as well as a transmission which is disposed between the rope drum and a drive motor. The transmission includes a drive shaft, an output shaft and a gear shifting device for different rope speeds. A stop brake is provided for the output shaft of the transmission. The gear shifting device is mounted between the drive shaft and the stop brake and is configured with respect to the output shaft so that it can be shifted from the second gear down to the first gear via a coupling disc which is actuated by a switching piston.