Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Rocking Stone

Discover The Rocking Stone in Islandmagee, Northern Ireland: The stone that rocks no more.

Retreat Tower

Discover Retreat Tower in Brattleboro, Vermont: Designed as a place for patients to take in the scenery, this tower has a dark history.

Rock Monastery of Shashkunite

Discover Rock Monastery of Shashkunite in Provadia, Bulgaria: Crossing a suspension bridge above a forest is the only way to reach this 12th-century monastery.

Palace of Portici

Discover Palace of Portici in Portici, Italy: Before the more famous Royal Palace of Caserta, the king of Naples first commissioned this overlooked residence.

Piazza Matteotti

Discover Piazza Matteotti in Imola, Italy: This Renaissance square was at the center of Leonardo da Vinci's map, the first ichnographic ever.

Great Camp Santanoni

Discover Great Camp Santanoni in Newcomb, New York: Hike deep into the woods to explore this Gilded Age masterpiece.

San Marino Jinja

Discover San Marino Jinja in Serravalle, San Marino: The only Shinto shrine in Europe that has been officially sanctioned by Japan.

‘Gadebuscher Münzschläger’

Discover 'Gadebuscher Münzschläger' in Gadebusch, Germany: This unusual sculpture depicts how coins were made when minting was done by hand.

Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery

Discover Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts: This memorial garden is the final resting place of many beloved pets including that of a famous explorer.

Stan Galle Field

Discover Stan Galle Field in Mobile, Alabama: Believed to be the oldest active college baseball field in America.

Mt. Yashima Ropeway

Discover Mt. Yashima Ropeway in Takamatsu, Japan: Nestled amid the trees lies an abandoned funicular railway that dates back to the 1920s.

Ashalim Power Station

Discover Ashalim Power Station in Ashalim, Israel: Deep in the Negev Desert, the world's tallest solar tower looks like a sight straight out of science fiction.

Castle Rock Badlands

Discover Castle Rock Badlands in Quinter, Kansas: These otherworldly limestone formations jut out from the Kansas prairie.

Newton’s Apple Tree

Discover Newton's Apple Tree in Lund, Sweden: A living descendant of the famous tree that helped Isaac Newton develop the theory of gravity.

Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme

Discover Rubicon Hydroelectric Scheme in Rubicon, Australia: One of the oldest operating hydroelectric power schemes in Australia.

Budhanilkantha

Discover Budhanilkantha in Budhanilkantha, Nepal: This representation of Lord Vishnu is the largest stone sculpture in Nepal.

Telise Marker Towers

Discover Telise Marker Towers in Telise, Estonia: These two strange cones are actually a system of old nautical navigation beacons.

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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