Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Wenckheim-kastély

Discover Wenckheim-kastély in Szabadkígyós, Hungary: This castle was designed to have as many windows as there are days in the year.

The Funkite Cemetery

Discover The Funkite Cemetery in Germantown, Pennsylvania: Hidden behind an empty field resides this early 19th-century cemetery.

Hōryū-ji

Discover Hōryū-ji in Ikaruga, Japan: Home to the world's oldest wooden building.

Pukkisaari

Discover Pukkisaari in Helsinki, Finland: On a small island, a replica of a Finnish village from the Iron Age.

Salma Palace

Discover Salma Palace in Al-Badie Al-Shamali, Saudi Arabia: Parts of this palace are upheld by merely palm stems or reeds supported by palm tree beams.

L’horloge Fleurie (The Flower Clock)

Discover L’horloge Fleurie (The Flower Clock) in Geneva, Switzerland: The world's largest second-hand graces a clock surrounded by constantly changing flower beds. .

Thomas Isaac Log Cabin

Discover Thomas Isaac Log Cabin in Ellicott City, Maryland: A former pillar of the Black community in Ellicott City.

The King of Olten

Discover The King of Olten in Olten, Switzerland: A bronze statue commemorating his royal meowjesty, Toulouse.

House of Leaves

Discover House of Leaves in Tirana, Albania: A museum dedicated to secret surveillance.

Fuente de los Tres Sombreros

Discover Fuente de los Tres Sombreros in Bécal, Mexico: This hat-shaped fountain pays tribute to a centuries-old textile tradition in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Formica Léo

Discover Formica Léo in Sainte Rose, Réunion: On one of the world's most active volcanoes, a pebble-filled crater changes color with the wind.

Charles Grimes Expedition Cairn

Discover Charles Grimes Expedition Cairn in Fairfield, Australia: A neat pile of shale marks an early English trip to the Yarra River.

D.C.’s Floating Chandeliers

Discover D.C.’s Floating Chandeliers in Washington, D.C.: Mysterious installations bring levity and light to a sometimes stodgy city.

‘Jackson’

Discover 'Jackson' in Reno, Nevada: This former New Jersey bus now exists as a public art exhibit.

The Hay Inclined Plane

Discover The Hay Inclined Plane in Telford and Wrekin, England: One of the first canal boat-lift inclines ever created.

La Llama

Discover La Llama in Barcelona, Spain: A bookstore dedicated to the intersection of comedy and art.

The 11 Bridges of Wayne

Discover The 11 Bridges of Wayne in Wayne, Alberta: To get to or from this Canadian ghost town, you'll need to cross 11 single-lane bridges.

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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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