Support bearing for a vertically arranged centrifugal pump

A vertical centrifugal pump having a support bearing arranged above the pump and including an axial bearing and a radial bearing. A housing encasing the support bearing is directly connected to the flow-carrying housing of the centrifugal pump. Lubrication, and optionally cooling, of the support bearing are performed by the pumped medium, which is conveyed to the support bearing through a connection leading from the pressure zone of the flow-carrying housing and is discharged into the suction zone of the pump, and a pump shaft seal is disposed on the opposite side of the support bearing from the flow-carrying housing of the centrifugal pump.