Archives: Atlas Obscuras

‘Man/Woman’

Discover 'Man/Woman' in Baltimore, Maryland: Public opinion is still divided on this enormous sculpture in front of Baltimore's Penn Station.

Kala Ghoda Statue

Discover Kala Ghoda Statue in Mumbai, India: A tribute to the area's namesake and King Edward VII.

Longest Known Mastodon Trackway

Discover Longest Known Mastodon Trackway in Ann Arbor, Michigan: See prehistoric footprints, plus two complete mastodon skeletons.

Anna Kéthly Statue

Discover Anna Kéthly Statue in Budapest, Hungary: A stone woman in a stylized dress honors a courageous politician.

Whale Jawbone Fence

Discover Whale Jawbone Fence in Rømø, Denmark: Danish whalers once brought back whale bones to use as building materials in places where wood was scarce.

Round Spring

Discover Round Spring in Round Spring, Missouri: An average of 33 million gallons of water pour out of the collapsed cave at the heart of this spherical spring.

Gibson-Todd House

Discover Gibson-Todd House in Charles Town, West Virginia: This striking Victorian Home with its 113-foot turret is best known as the site where abolitionist John Brown was executed in 1859.

Hrimnir Ramen

Discover Hrimnir Ramen in Oslo, Norway: A microbiologist-chef is slinging noodles with hyperlocal Nordic ingredients.

Black Sabbath Bridge

Discover Black Sabbath Bridge in Birmingham, England: A bench and a bridge pay tribute to Birmingham's favorite heavy metal band.

Fairfield Heritage

Discover Fairfield Heritage in Glasgow, Scotland: A community museum celebrates Glasgow's mighty shipbuilding days.

Tomb of Ishtur Phakda

Discover Tomb of Ishtur Phakda in Vadgaon, India: The final resting place of a British officer killed during the First Anglo-Maratha War.

Mount Macedon Memorial Cross

Discover Mount Macedon Memorial Cross in Mount Macedon, Australia: A tribute to the fallen of World War I now honors all who have lost their lives to war.

Reclaim Arcade

Discover Reclaim Arcade in Fredericksburg, Virginia: A throwback to 1980's gaming nostalgia.

Sophie Loeb Fountain

Discover Sophie Loeb Fountain in New York, New York: An Alice in Wonderland-themed sculpture for a woman dedicated to children.

Posmievačik

Discover Posmievačik in Bratislava, Slovakia: No one knows the origin of this creepy little stone man with an oversized phallus.

Killeshin Church

Discover Killeshin Church in Killeshin, Ireland: An elaborate Romanesque archway, built right before the British occupation of Ireland.

Calasanctius Mural

Discover Calasanctius Mural in Buffalo, New York: A Byzantine-style concrete artwork pays tribute to a 17th-century saint.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 261 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 480 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 514 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 642 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 137 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 172 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 256 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 151 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 98 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 168

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