Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The World Coffee Museum

Discover The World Coffee Museum in Thành phố Buôn Ma Thuột, Vietnam: Drink and learn at this striking ode to coffee culture and history.

Kleine Wache

Discover Kleine Wache in Aachen, Germany: A former customs station on the border of Germany and the Netherlands.

Dhamek Stupa

Discover Dhamek Stupa in Varanasi, India: A bulky, ancient stupa marks the site of Siddhartha Gautama's seminal Buddhist teaching.

Villaggio Minerario Asproni

Discover Villaggio Minerario Asproni in Iglesias, Italy: A former mining village that now operates as an open-air museum.

Huly Hill

Discover Huly Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland: If you fly into Edinburgh Airport, it's possible to spot this prehistoric site without even getting off the plane.

America’s Black Holocaust Museum

Discover America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin: A Milwaukee museum provides an unsparing and ultimately empowering look at the Black American experience.

Reloj Chino (Chinese Clock)

Discover Reloj Chino (Chinese Clock) in México D.F., Mexico: This stately clock was gifted from China's last imperial government to the people of Mexico.

Hemenway Park

Discover Hemenway Park in Boulder City, Nevada: A lovely park home with a few interesting guests.

Paep Thoon

Discover Paep Thoon in Leuven, Belgium: Banished from town, this local jester concocted a clever return.

Samurai Museum

Discover Samurai Museum in Tokyo, Japan: Dedicated to the armor and weapons used by the legendary Japanese warriors.

Romanita Collective Housing Tower

Discover Romanita Collective Housing Tower in Chisinau, Moldova: Once the tallest building in Chisinau, this unique tower is a relic of Soviet architecture.

Ha Kome Cave Dwellings

Discover Ha Kome Cave Dwellings in Lesotho: An 18th-century hideout became a permanent and ongoing residence for one Lesotho tribe.

Frazetta Art Museum

Discover Frazetta Art Museum in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania: The largest collection of Frazetta originals in the world.

Eischen’s Bar

Discover Eischen's Bar in Okarche, Oklahoma: Come for the fried chicken, stay for the history at Oklahoma's oldest bar.

The Church in the Desert

Discover The Church in the Desert in San Luis Potosí, Mexico: Past the hills and beyond the graveyard, this church feels extremely out of place.

The World’s Largest Wooden Nickel

Discover World’s Largest Wooden Nickel in Iowa City, Iowa: This 16-foot-diameter wooden coin has been standing in Iowa City since 2006.

‘De Bospoldervos’

Discover 'De Bospoldervos' in Rotterdam, Netherlands: A massive stone fox oversees a Rotterdam elementary school crosswalk.

Lukiškės Prison

Discover Lukiškės Prison in Vilnius, Lithuania: A century-old prison in the heart of Vilnius is now a lively bar, dance club, and artist residency.

PS Air Bar

Discover PS Air Bar in Palm Springs, California: Experience the glam side of air travel without leaving the ground at this speakeasy.

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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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