Archives: Atlas Obscuras

‘Dwellings’ at the Breuer Building

Discover 'Dwellings' at the Breuer Building in New York, New York: This miniature village stays behind in the Breuer Building, even as the museums around it come and go.

Susuz Caravanserai

Discover Susuz Caravanserai in Bucak, Turkey: A little-known caravanserai hidden among farmhouses in the Turkish countryside.

The Viking Unst Project and Skidbladner

Discover The Viking Unst Project and Skidbladner in Haroldswick, Scotland: Recreations of a Norse longhouse and boat on Shetland's northernmost inhabited island.

Przhevalskiy Museum

Discover Przhevalskiy Museum in Przhevalsk, Kyrgyzstan: This museum is dedicated to one of Russia's greatest explorers.

Mount Air Historic Site

Discover Mount Air Historic Site in Lorton, Virginia: This homestead was occupied by Union soldiers, who believed the owners were signaling Confederate forces.

Conowingo Dam

Discover Conowingo Dam in Darlington, Maryland: Although built to generate electricity for Marylanders, this dam has become an all-you-can-eat buffet for American bald eagles.

Stanley Institute

Discover Stanley Institute in Cambridge, Maryland: This one-room schoolhouse played a significant role in the education of Black children for almost 100 years.

Castles of Valderas

Discover Castles of Valderas in Alcorcón, Spain: A historic castle that served as a backdrop to part of an elaborate extraterrestrial hoax.

Mawson’s Huts Replica Museum

Discover Mawson's Huts Replica Museum in Hobart, Australia: The world's only full-size replica of the research hut used by Douglas Mawson for his 1911-14 Australasian Antarctic Expedition.

Wharram Percy

Discover Wharram Percy in Malton, England: A deserted medieval village where bodies were once mutilated to prevent them rising from the dead.

Villa La Favorita

Discover Villa La Favorita in Mantua, Italy: The remains of the last Gonzaga villa, a luxurious palace built in spite of an economic crisis.

Motel Inn

Discover Motel Inn in San Luis Obispo, California: The world's first motel is now an administrative building for an apple farm.

Phanom Rung Historical Park

Discover Phanom Rung Historical Park in Ta Pek, Thailand: This Khmer-era temple includes a lintel that was stolen and displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago for years before returning to Thailand.

Sanctuary Stone

Discover Sanctuary Stone in Liverpool, England: This stone once marked the boundaries of Liverpool's medieval markets.

God Stone of Shiroishi

Discover Shinseki Shiroishi (God Stone of Shiroishi) in Shiroishi, Japan: A town's namesake rock has served as a spiritual matchmaker for hundreds of years.

Covão da Ametade

Discover Covão da Ametade in Loriga, Portugal: A glacial valley filled with silver beech trees in the mountains of Portugal.

Saimaluu Tash

Discover Saimaluu Tash in Toguz Toro, Kyrgyzstan: These oldest of these "embroidered stones" were carved 4,000 years ago in a high mountain valley.

Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Discover Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Freetown, Sierra Leone: A rehabilitation center for confiscated, orphaned, and abandoned chimpanzees.

Shrine to the Perfect Man

Discover Shrine to the Perfect Man in Columbus, New Mexico: This replica of the Indian spiritual master Meher Baba's tomb stands unfinished in the New Mexico desert.

Alice Liddell’s Grave

Discover Alice Liddell's Grave in Lyndhurst, Hampshire: The grave of Mrs. Reginald Hargreaves, who inspired the tale 'Alice in Wonderland.'.

Menu

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