Abstract: To avoid impacts on the first pass of the rolled product through a universal rolling mill the vertical rolls of the rolling mill can be provided with their own integral drive according to our invention. In an electrical drive for a vertical roll the vertical roll is the rotor of an electric motor while the stator is a circular collar on a nonrotatable supporting axle for the vertical roll. In a hydraulic drive for a vertical roll a hydraulic motor is either located in a housing side extension of the structural member supporting the vertical roll to drive it from the outside by spur wheel gearing or by a frictional drive or the hydraulic motor is mounted in the nonrotating supporting axle of the vertical roll and engages on an inner cogged drive ring on the vertical roll from the inside by spur gearing positioned on a transverse plane.