A stand for carrying a load, in particular a surgical microscope, having a first number N of pivot bearings, pivotable at pivot axes (120a-120g), for making available a pivotability of a number of arms (130a-130e) of the stand, and/or of a mount (140) provided on an arm for the load to be carried, relative to one another, such that in order to lock in place a desired pivot position, the pivot bearings can be acted upon at least in part by means of lockable and releasable brakes (125a-125h), where as a result of a first actuation of an actuation device (160, 162) a number n of pivot bearings, such that n≦N, is releasable and as a result of a second actuation of the actuation device (160, 162) a number n′ of the pivot bearings, such that n′
