Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Moenave Dinosaur Tracks

Discover Moenave Dinosaur Tracks in Tuba City, Arizona: One of the most extensive and well-preserved collections of dinosaur footprints in North America.

Childers Backpacker Memorial

Discover Childers Backpacker Memorial in Childers, Australia: This former hostel is now an art gallery and a memorial for 15 backpackers who lost their lives to a tragic act of arson.

Maison de Nostradamus

Discover Maison de Nostradamus in Salon-de-Provence, France: The home where the famous astrologer wrote some of his most telling prophecies.

Chesterwood

Discover Chesterwood in Stockbridge, Massachusetts: Take a step inside the picturesque studio of America’s most renowned sculptor.

Secretariat Pole

Discover Secretariat Pole in Elmont, New York: This pole near the infield rail at Belmont Park marks the jaw-dropping margin of Secretariat’s 1973 Belmont Stakes victory.

Elevador Lacerda

Discover Elevador Lacerda in Salvador, Brazil: This public elevator links the lower city to the upper city of Salvador.

Juan Rulfo House of Culture Mural

Discover Juan Rulfo House of Culture Mural in Mexico City, Mexico: The entrance to an early 20th-century cultural center features murals that deal with the cultural fusion that characterizes Mexico.

Cappella Colleoni

Discover Cappella Colleoni in Bergamo, Italy: If you ever wanted to touch a medieval mercenary’s three testicles, look no further.

Upplevelsdusch

Discover Upplevelsdusch in Värmdö SO, Sweden: This spa shower is an interactive art piece that reflects the feeling of Scandinavian seasons.

The Old Brick Road

Discover The Old Brick Road in Bunnell, Florida: Part of a highway network meant to connect Miami to Montreal, this 10-mile stretch of road made from red bricks is still around 100 years later.

Ecokathedraal

Discover Ecokathedraal in Mildam, Netherlands: Nestled in the woods lies this land art project: a hybrid between park, maze and natural monument.

Hagendenkmal

Discover Hagendenkmal in Worms, Germany: A statue dedicated to the antihero of the Nibelung legend.

Parque Masayoshi Ohira (Masayoshi Ohira Park)

Discover Parque Masayoshi Ohira (Masayoshi Ohira Park) in Mexico City, Mexico: This Japanese-inspired park showcases the city's peculiar trends for naming features after foreign rulers.

Mary Randolph Gravesite

Discover Mary Randolph Gravesite in Arlington, Virginia: Recorded as the first person buried in Arlington Cemetery.

Socrates Sculpture Park

Discover Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York: This outdoor gallery of sculptures along the East River was once a landfill.

Aldeia Artística (Artistic Village)

Discover Aldeia Artística (Artistic Village) in Barrenta, Portugal: The walls of this small village have been turned into a living street art gallery.

St. Rumbold’s Cathedral

Discover St. Rumbold's Cathedral in Mechelen, Belgium: The tallest church in Mechelen might have been the tallest in the world if not for a lack of funds.

Gympie Bone Museum

Discover Gympie Bone Museum in Araluen, Australia: Australia's first and only museum dedicated exclusively to bones.

Palazzo della Vittoria

Discover Palazzo della Vittoria in Turin, Italy: This building was designed to celebrate Italy's victory in World War I.

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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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