[en] The upgrading of LEP by s.c. cavities will require installation and operation of a few hundred 350 MHz, 4-cell cavities in the accelerator tunnel. It is at present anticipated to install eight cavities per rf-cell which have a length of ∼ 24 m. A tunnel slope of up to 1.5% and a tunnel diameter of 4.4 m have to be accommodated. For the design of adequate cryostats the following guiding lines were considered: up to eight cavities with their He tank could be housed in a common insulation vacuum. Cryostats should be modular and allow installation of individual cavities or groups of two cavities (with a total length not exceeding 6 m thus enabling normal transport inside the access pits and machine tunnel). A high accessibility to all critical parts like couplers, tuners and beam tube connections should be guaranteed. This requirement dictates a lateral access through the vacuum tank and thermal radiation shield which should also permit the removal and replacement of any one 4-cell cavity without disturbing the neighboring units. Cavity connections to the beam vacuum system as well as repairs should be possible under reasonably clean and dust-free conditions, particularly when keeping cavities under a slight overpressure of dry, dust-free protective gas. A test program was launched and a 1/5 scale model vacuum tank was constructed and tested. The main feature of this model was a frame and sealing skin design which offers complete accessibility to the inside of the vessel. The results obtained prompted the design and construction of a full size model which was completed in 1985 and proved the feasibility of the new concepts. A thin copper radiation shield mechanically clamped to the piping carrying the refrigerant and thus easily removable to meet the requirement of accessibility also proved adequate to intercept and evacuate the heat radiated by the vacuum tank. 4 references, 6 figures