A rope drum for drawing and releasing a rope under tensile stress. Support segments are arranged to provide a number of grip sections for supporting the rope through the grip sections as a continuous spiral surrounding the rotated drum part by at least two rounds so that, when the drum part is rotated, a number of grip sections move due to the guidance of the support segments along the drum part depending on the rotation direction of the drum part towards the first end of the drum part or towards the second end. Prevention grooves or ridges together with the support segments restrict the movement of the grip sections supporting the rope on the drum part with regard to the drum part in the direction of the perimeter to a maximum that is defined by the mutual geometry of the prevention grooves or ridges and the support means.