Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Burke and Wills Monument

Discover Burke and Wills Monument in Parkville, Australia: This unusual stone monument marks the starting point of the epic and tragic event.

The Ghost Forest of Nienhagen

Discover Gespensterwald (Ghost Forest) in Nienhagen, Germany: Twisted trees shaped by coastal winds make this woodland look like something from a spooky story.

Walmer Castle and Gardens

Discover Walmer Castle and Gardens in Walmer, England: This curious Tudor-era castle was once home to Napoleon's greatest adversary, the Duke of Wellington.

Town Bridge & Lock-up

Discover Town Bridge & Lock-up in Bradford-on-Avon, England: This bridge later moonlighted as a local jail.

Dofuchi Strait

Discover Dofuchi Strait in Tonosho, Japan: The world's narrowest strait is often mistaken for a canal.

The Wright Tavern

Discover The Wright Tavern in Concord, Massachusetts: The Wright Tavern is possibly the most important building in Concord Massachusetts to the American Revolution.

Mar’s Wark

Discover Mar's Wark in Stirling, Scotland: The main residence of the Erskine family and the hereditary keeper of the nearby royal Stirling Castle.

‘Famntaget’ (‘The Embrace’)

Discover 'Famntaget' ('The Embrace') in Trelleborg Ö, Sweden: This statue standing near Sweden's southernmost point was based on the grandmother of a modern movie star.

Croft Moraig Stone Circle

Discover Croft Moraig Stone Circle in Aberfeldy, Scotland: This Neolithic stone circle is the most complete of its kind in Scotland.

Summer Falls

Discover Summer Falls in Coulee City, Washington: This large artificial waterfall in Washington state was merely an incidental byproduct of a technological megaproject.

Museum of Space Exploration

Discover Museum of Space Exploration in Pereiaslav, Ukraine: A century-old church is now a space museum with a treasure trove of Soviet space items.

The White Rose Memorial Exhibition

Discover DenkStätte Weiße Rose (White Rose Memorial Exhibition) in Munich, Germany: This poignant tribute to the White Rose movement showcases artifacts related to the heroic anti-Nazi struggle.

‘Hercules’

Discover 'Hercules' in Outer Hebrides, Scotland: A memorial to the acting bear whose escape caused a sensation on the Outer Hebrides.

‘Monument Tortura Nunca Mais’

Discover 'Monument Tortura Nunca Mais' ('Torture Never Again') in Recife, Brazil: This haunting sculpture stands as a memorial to the torture victims of the Brazilian military dictatorship.

Gemini Bridges

Discover Gemini Bridges in Moab, Utah: It's safe—and permitted—to walk across these twin natural sandstone arches.

Gleedsville Cemetery

Discover Gleedsville Cemetery in Leesburg, Virginia: The all-but-forgotten cemetery is Eastern Loudon County's largest African-American burial ground.

Temple of Artemis Agrotera

Discover Temple of Artemis Agrotera in Athens, Greece: The only ancient site that remains on the south bank of the sacred Ilissos river.

Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum

Discover Seaba Station Motorcycle Museum in Chandler, Oklahoma: Located along historic Route 66, this former gas station has been restored and converted into a museum filled with vintage motorcycles.

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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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