Archives: Atlas Obscuras

General Braddock’s Gravesite(s)

Discover General Braddock's Gravesite(s) in Farmington, Pennsylvania: The penultimate and final resting places of British General Edward Braddock—minus a few bits and pieces.

Phu Phra Bat Historical Park

Discover Phu Phra Bat Historical Park in Tambon Mueang Phan, Thailand: An amalgam of precariously balanced boulders, ancient petroglyphs, and Buddhist shrines.

Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant

Discover Rheinsberg Nuclear Power Plant in Rheinsberg, Germany: This decommissioned nuclear power plant offers tours of its Communist-era control room and reactor hall.

Porcupine Flat Gold Dredge and Dragline

Discover Porcupine Flat Gold Dredge and Dragline in Maldon, Australia: These two large, rusting pieces of machinery are relics of Australia’s gold mining past.

Monumento a el Enano

Discover Monumento a el Enano (Monument to the Dwarf) in Santa Cruz de la Palma, Spain: A statue commemorating the island's tradition of dancing dwarves in Napoleon hats.

Pinara

Discover Pinara in Turkey: At this ancient settlement at the foot of Mount Babadağ, honeycomb tombs are carved into a round cliff.

John W. Bowser’s Empire State Building Grave

Discover John W. Bowser's Empire State Building Grave in Aurora, Ontario: This uniquely shaped tombstone is dedicated to the project construction superintendent for the Empire State Building.

‘Molecule Men’

Discover 'Molecule Men' in Berlin, Germany: This monumental work of art symbolizes the coming together of a previously divided city.

Portuguese Fort Ruins

Discover Portuguese Fort Ruins in Cova-Lima, East Timor: The remains of a former colonial fort on a stretch of beach that is occasionally visited by crocodiles.

The “Real” Cardiff Giant

Discover The "Real" Cardiff Giant in Fort Dodge, Iowa: Hidden in the grounds of the Fort Dodge Museum is a "real" and terrifying petrified giant.

The R.N.L.I Fish

Discover The R.N.L.I Fish in Robin Hood's Bay, England: This coin collecting cod is over 130 years old, and the United Kingdom's smallest listed structure.

Qanat di Palermo

Discover Qanat di Palermo in Palermo, Italy: A network of underground water channels that dates back to the Middle Ages.

Van Nelle Factory

Discover Van Nelle Factory in Rotterdam, Netherlands: An icon of International Style architecture on the outskirts of Rotterdam.

Dragos Gemelos

Discover Dragos Gemelos in La Palma, Spain: Behind this pair of dragon trees, there is a tragic story of lost love.

Maritime Museum Peenemünde U-461

Discover Maritime Museum Peenemünde U-461 in Peenemünde, Germay: This 1960's Soviet submarine in Peenemünde Harbor claims to be the largest submarine museum in the world.

Attila’s Throne

Discover Attila's Throne in Venice, Italy: An island on the Venetian Lagoon hosts this stone chair that has nothing to do with the King of the Huns.

Falls Of Dochart

Discover Falls Of Dochart in Killin, Scotland: Cascading waterfalls mark the gateway to the ancient burial place of Clan Macnab.

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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