Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Usuki Stone Buddhas

Discover Usuki Stone Buddhas in Usuki, Japan: These medieval stone-cut Buddhist statues may protect visitors from being fired.

Staro Selo Open-Air Museum

Discover Staro Selo Open-Air Museum in Sirogojno, Serbia: This historical village takes you back to the 19th century.

Historic Walnford

Discover Historic Walnford in Allentown, New Jersey: Inside Crosswicks Creek Park resides an estate chronicling 200 years of history.

Glenn Stark Park

Discover Glenn Stark Park in Kingman, Kansas: This roadside park filled with unusual statues is on the grounds of an abandoned railway station.

Shanghai Film Park

Discover Shanghai Film Park in Shanghai, China: This film studio and amusement park is considered one of the greatest filming locations in China.

‘Saved by a Whale’s Tail’

Discover 'Saved by a Whale’s Tail' in Spijkenisse, Netherlands: This unique sculpture proved invaluable when it saved a train from careening off the tracks.

Promenade des Petits Ponts

Discover Promenade des Petits Ponts in Chevreuse, France: A total of 22 tiny bridges cross this canal of the Yvette River, forming a unique trail.

The Miss Jean Brodie Steps

Discover The Miss Jean Brodie Steps in Edinburgh, Scotland: These steps offer a breathtaking view of one of Europe's most besieged fortresses.

Abandoned Bunkers of Salpalinja

Discover Abandoned Bunkers of Salpalinja in Virolahti, Finland: Fortifications built for a Soviet invasion that never came now sit abandoned in a losing battle against nature.

Droagh Motte

Discover Droagh Motte in Ballygalley, Northern Ireland: Hidden in Carnfunnock Country Park is a lasting testament to the Normans who once settled in the region.

Ečka Kula

Discover Ečka Kula in Ečka, Serbia: Ruins of an old water tower that look like a horror-film castle.

The Dutchman’s Leap

Discover The Dutchman's Leap in Lerwick, Scotland: Legend has it that a Dutch fisherman lost control of his Shetland pony and tumbled from this cliff.

Nea Moni

Discover Nea Moni in Chios, Greece: This 11th-century Greek monastery has renowned mosaics and relics of a brutal past.

Keppel Hill Reservoir

Discover Keppel Hill Reservoir in Singapore: A former reservoir that was only recently discovered after more than 60 years of disuse.

‘Kladenská koule’ (‘Kladno Ball’)

Discover 'Kladenská koule' ('Kladno Ball') in Kladno, Czechia: This spherical sculpture has also been dubbed "the steel orange" due to its likeness to a massive, sliced piece of citrus.

Omori Shell Mound

Discover Omori Shell Mound in Tokyo, Japan: The site of Japan’s first archaeological excavation is also the birthplace of fingerprint forensics.

Falu Gruva (Falun Mine)

Discover Falu Gruva (Falun Mine) in Falun, Sweden: A centuries-old copper mine that once provided two thirds of the world's copper supply.

Hartsville Nuclear Plant

Discover Hartsville Nuclear Plant in Hartsville, Tennessee: This abandoned nuclear cooling tower casts a shadow over a bucolic town.

Bob Marley Monument

Discover Bob Marley Monument in Banatski Sokolac, Serbia: The first European statue dedicated to the legendary musician.

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