Archives: Atlas Obscuras

‘Cromatico’

Discover 'Cromatico' in Tallinn, Estonia: This set of concrete chambers resonates according to different notes of octaves.

Robert Penn Warren’s Birthplace

Discover Robert Penn Warren's Birthplace in Guthrie, Kentucky: The birthplace of the first author to win the Pulitzer Prize in fiction and poetry.

Sea Tunnel at St. Anthony’s Canal

Discover Sea Tunnel at St. Anthony’s Canal in Šibenik, Croatia: This unique structure allowed boats to bypass underwater mine barriers in the channel to enter the harbor.

Rockland (Woodhill) Tunnel

Discover Rockland (Woodhill) Tunnel in Kennerdell, Pennsylvania: An abandoned railroad tunnel transformed into a creepy path for hikers and cyclists.

Memorial to the Edelweiss Pirates

Discover Memorial to the Edelweiss Pirates in Cologne, Germany: A poignant mural honors the heroic teenage non-conformists who took on the Nazis and paid the ultimate price.

‘Sweet Brown Snail’

Discover 'Sweet Brown Snail' in Munich, Germany: A giant snail sculpture looking longingly at the German traffic museum.

Liberty Rock

Discover Liberty Rock in Milford, Connecticut: This large boulder was used as a lookout point by Revolutionary War militiamen.

St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church

Discover St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Hunter, New York: This stave church nestled in the Catskills was built in the 1960s by a community of Ukrainian immigrants and refugees.

‘Newspaper Reader’

Discover 'Newspaper Reader' in Lancaster, Pennsylvania: This iconic Lancaster everyman has been reading the same story since 1980.

Jimbōchō Book Town

Discover Jimbōchō Book Town in Tokyo, Japan: A bibliophile's heaven that contains hundreds of bookstores, offering over a third of secondhand books for sale in Tokyo.

‘The Public Purse’

Discover 'The Public Purse' in Melbourne, Australia: This giant, granite purse is one of Melbourne's most unique and distinctive pieces of public art.

The King’s Arms Tavern

Discover The King’s Arms Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia: Dine like an American revolutionary at Colonial Williamsburg.

Partnach Memorial

Discover Partnach Memorial in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany: A memorial dedicated to those who lost their lives working in what is now a massive tourist attraction.

Vollpension

Discover Vollpension in Vienna, Austria: Visiting this café is like visiting the Austrian grandma you wish you had.

Kostis Palamas House

Discover Kostis Palamas House in Athens, Greece: The home of Greece’s national poet sits crumbling in the middle of a popular tourist district.

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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