Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Amazake-chaya Tea House

Discover Amazake-chaya Tea House in Hakone, Japan: This teahouse's specialty has been unchanged for over 400 years.

Blanco Renaissance Museum

Discover Blanco Renaissance Museum in Kecamatan Ubud, Indonesia: Visitors to this museum will find architectural oddities, an art gallery, and an unlikely bird sanctuary.

Kailashnath Mahadev Statue

Discover Kailashnath Mahadev Statue in Sanga, Nepal: Nepal is home to the world’s tallest Shiva statue.

Beyer Stadium

Discover Beyer Stadium in Rockford, Illinois: This baseball diamond was home to the Rockford Peaches, a team featured in the hit film "A League of Their Own.".

St. Canute’s Cathedral

Discover St. Canute's Cathedral in Odense, Denmark: The last Viking king of Denmark is buried inside the crypt of this cathedral.

Devil’s Gate (Wyoming)

Discover Devil’s Gate (Wyoming) in Alcova, Wyoming: A devilishly named gorge that was a sign of salvation for many pioneers.

‘Sam’

Discover 'Sam' in Riga, Latvia: This statue is dedicated to the animal cosmonauts that perished during space flight experiments.

Merchiston Tower

Discover Merchiston Tower in Edinburgh, Scotland: A former medieval fortress, now home to Edinburgh Napier University, contains a rather risqué work of art.

Wilkes Street Tunnel

Discover Wilkes Street Tunnel in Alexandria, Virginia: This brick-lined pedestrian walkway was once a railway tunnel used during the Civil War.

Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center

Discover Onöhsagwë:de’ Cultural Center in Salamanca, New York: This museum pays tribute to the largest group in the Iroquois Confederacy.

Site of the Destroyed Ursuline Convent

Discover Site of the Destroyed Ursuline Convent in Somerville, Massachusetts: A monument marks where a convent was burned by an anti-Catholic mob in 1834.

Dacha Kvitko

Discover Dacha Kvitko in Khostinskiy, Russia: An abandoned mansion is now a haven for urban explorers.

St. James Hotel

Discover St. James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico: A saloon and inn that served the Wild West's most iconic figures—and is still haunted by some of them today.

Original Pizza Hut

Discover Original Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas: The first "Hut" was actually a small brick building.

Adria Palace

Discover Adria Palace in Budapest, Hungary: This building has survived for more than a century and remains virtually untouched.

The Linford Barrows

Discover The Linford Barrows in County Antrim, Northern Ireland: These unknown Bronze Age earthworks are believed to be ancient burial mounds.

Muzey Kino

Discover Muzey Kino in Moscow, Russia: For lovers of Soviet cinema, this museum is home to a vast collection of artifacts and costumes.

McMonagle’s

Discover McMonagle's in Clydebank, Scotland: A historic shipbuilding town is home to a sail-through fish-and-chips shop.

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