Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Istanbul Airport Museum

Discover Istanbul Airport Museum in Arnavutköy, Turkey: This airport also offers travelers the chance to view thousands of years of Turkish history.

The Old Country Store and Museum

Discover The Old Country Store and Museum in Moultonborough, New Hampshire: This store also houses a museum dedicated to the history of these small, historic community shops.

Mas des Tourelles

Discover Mas des Tourelles in Beaucaire, France: A winery built on the site of a Gallo-Roman estate uses historical tools to recreate ancient vintages.

Memorial to Tamir Rice

Discover Memorial to Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio: This garden memorial marks the site where 12-year-old Tamir Rice was fatally shot by the Cleveland Police Department.

Fick Fossil and History Museum

Discover Fick Fossil and History Museum in Oakley, Kansas: This small museum contains fossils from an era when Kansas was underwater.

Causey Arch

Discover Causey Arch in Stanley, England: The world’s oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge.

Clochoderick Stone

Discover Clochoderick Stone in Renfrewshire, Scotland: This stone was once used by druids to determine a person's innocence or guilt.

Bunker Soratte

Discover Bunker Soratte in Rome, Italy: Hidden within this iconic mountain are a set of World War II bunkers once used by German forces.

Tomb of Balban

Discover Tomb of Balban in New Delhi, India: An unassuming tomb houses an important milestone in Indian architectural history.

Casa Sirena Seaside Resort

Discover Casa Sirena Seaside Resort in Oxnard, California: Abandoned in 2009, this once popular resort destination now stands frozen in time.

Barmaz Ghost Village

Discover Barmaz Ghost Village in Saint-Denis, Italy: An abandoned village that resides along the mountains of the Aosta Valley.

Magoula Cemetery

Discover Magoula Cemetery in Magoula, Greece: Modernist design and funerary customs meet Spartan traditions in this one-of-a-kind graveyard.

Shrine to Saint Andrew

Discover Shrine to Saint Andrew in Edinburgh, Scotland: Inside this cathedral is a shoulder bone belonging to the Patron Saint of Scotland.

Sigtuna Stora Gatan

Discover Sigtuna Stora Gatan in Sigtuna, Sweden: Sweden's oldest street has not changed for nearly a millennium.

Barnburgh Crags

Discover Barnburgh Crags in Barnburgh, England: Mysterious stone faces line a hidden path great for seeing wildflowers, bird watching, and rock climbing.

Oost-Indisch Huis

Discover Oost-Indisch Huis in Amsterdam, Netherlands: The former headquarters of history's oldest megacorporation.

Kaymoor Mines

Discover Kaymoor Mines in Fayetteville, West Virginia: An abandoned coal mine reached by a steep hike.

The Poets Path

Discover The Poets Path in Ayr, Scotland: These unique weather vanes honor Scotland's most famous bard and decorate this walkway.

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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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