Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Banco della Reson

Discover Banco della Reson in Cavalese, Italy: The community gathered on this stone table to make important decisions, but it was also the site of witch trials.

Cappella Suardi

Discover Cappella Suardi in Trescore Balneario, Italy: Jesus turns into vines inside this chapel.

Emiliano Zapata House Museum

Discover Emiliano Zapata House Museum in Anenecuilco, Mexico: The ruins of the humble house of one of Mexico's most iconic revolutionaries.

Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park

Discover Tannehill Ironworks Historical State Park in McCalla, Alabama: The remains of a foundry and old blast furnaces destroyed during the Civil War are preserved in this central Alabama park.

Falls of Leny

Discover Falls of Leny in Kilmahog, Scotland: A tumbling waterfall near a narrow passage that was used to herd cattle for hundreds of years.

Armstrong Tunnel

Discover Armstrong Tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: This quarter-mile tunnel under the Bluff in Pittsburgh bends at a 45-degree angle.

Duino Mithraeum

Discover Duino Mithraeum in Duino, Italy: Europe's only Temple of Mithras located in a natural cave.

TMK Creamery

Discover TMK Creamery in Canby, Oregon: Here, cows that make vodka are treated like celebrities.

This Is Not a Tropical Beach

Discover West Berneray Beach in Outer Hebrides, Scotland: Despite what a Thai tourism board might want you to think, this white-sand beach is in fact located on a Scottish island.

Fort George

Discover Fort George in Mumbai, India: An 18th-century fort in the business district of Mumbai.

Bachelor Loop Interpretive Site

Discover Bachelor Loop Interpretive Site in Creede, Colorado: Take a self-guided tour through one of Colorado's most elevated mining districts.

Ballymeanoch Prehistoric Monuments

Discover Ballymeanoch Prehistoric Monuments in Kilmartin, Scotland: This Neolithic-era complex boasts standing stones, a cairn, and the only henge in Western Scotland.

The Lion’s Den

Discover The Lion's Den in Stirling, Scotland: It's said this was once the home of King James V's pet lion.

King’s Observatory

Discover King’s Observatory in London, England: Built by George III to observe the transit of Venus, this Georgian gem is a unique survivor in the Arcadian landscape of Richmond upon Thames.

Warrior Birds Memorial

Discover Warrior Birds Memorial in Worthing, England: An eccentric memorial garden to the "warrior" birds of World War I, the messenger pigeons used by the Allied forces.

Barra Bunting

Discover Barra Bunting in Outer Hebrides, Scotland: A collective artwork that any visitor to the islands of Barra and Vatersay can add to.

Ramparts of Beaune

Discover Ramparts of Beaune in Beaune, France: These ramparts, once lined with towers, were constructed in defense of Beaune.

Nöl Collective

Discover Nöl Collective in Ramallah, West Bank: The feminist fashion collective centering Palestinian craftsmanship and radical transparency.

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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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