Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Dharavandhoo Fish Market

Discover Dharavandhoo Fish Market in Dharavandhoo, Maldives: When the sun sets, the customers arrive—but they’re not human.

Gishora Drum Sanctuary

Discover Gishora Drum Sanctuary in Gishora, Burundi: This century-old site established by King Mwezi Gisabo preserves the art of Burundi's ancient drum rituals.

Melanin Cafe

Discover Melanin Cafe in Opelika, Alabama: At this coffee shop, each drink celebrates African-American history and luminaries.

Barshaw Park

Discover Barshaw Park in Paisley, Scotland: A Paisley park where little has changed since its early 20th-century creation.

Maryland Watermen’s Monument

Discover Maryland Watermen's Monument in Grasonville, Maryland: This statue of two men in a rowboat was erected to honor those who died while fishing in the Chesapeake Bay.

Back Lot

Discover Back Lot in West Hollywood, California: Peek inside Howard Hughes' garage at this Hollywood-themed art installation.

Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui

Discover Bridge to Nowhere, Manawatu-Wanganui in Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand: This bridge was designed to connect a road that never came to fruition.

Faces Bridge

Discover Faces Bridge in Loveland, Colorado: A surprising collection of bronze faces beneath a bridge in Loveland.

Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery

Discover Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery in Lititz, Pennsylvania: Don't get it twisted: This is the oldest pretzel bakery in the United States.

Stobs Camp

Built as a training camp, this site in Scotland became a detainment center for prisoners of war and German civilians during World War I.

Stadsbank van Lening (City Bank of Lending)

Discover Stadsbank van Lening (City Bank of Lending) in Amsterdam, Netherlands: The facade of this bank has changed little over the centuries, including its unique welcome sign.

Hotel Casa Grande Wall

Discover Hotel Casa Grande Wall in Taxco, Mexico: A wall of this old hotel was decorated with drawings made of pebbles during its construction.

The Wood Cake House

Discover The Wood Cake House in Toronto, Ontario: This knick-knack-covered house (complete with a matching van) is a charming oddity in the middle of a modest downtown neighborhood.

Crab Museum

Discover Crab Museum in Margate, England: Europe's "only museum dedicated to the decapod" is full of quirky and absurdist displays, including one featuring the "famous" Giant Crab of Margate.

Great Plains Dinosaur Museum

Discover Great Plains Dinosaur Museum in Malta, Montana: This small museum is home to some of the oldest and best-preserved dinosaur specimens found in Montana.

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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

PP ToS