Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Devil’s Tree

Discover Devil's Tree in Bernards Township, New Jersey: An allegedly cursed tree represents a town's reckoning with a racist past.

Casa Romuli

Discover Casa Romuli in Rome, Italy: These hut foundations are believed to be the residence of Romulus, founder of Rome.

Emoji Stained Glass Windows

Discover Emoji Stained Glass Windows in Malmö, Sweden: These unique stained glass windows were designed by local children using a modern flair.

Maritime Silk Road Museum

Discover Maritime Silk Road Museum in Yangjiang, China: Inside this museum is an ongoing excavation of an ancient shipwreck.

Hornet Balls

Discover Hornet Balls in Goldvein, Virginia: These massive concrete balls were used to mine gold in Virginia.

Yarra Bend Asylum Pillar

Discover Yarra Bend Asylum Pillar in Fairfield, Australia: This lone pillar is all that remains of a 19th-century asylum.

Pons Fabricius

Discover Pons Fabricius in Rome, Italy: This is the oldest Roman-made bridge in the city still existing in its original state.

International Mountain Museum

Discover International Mountain Museum in Pokhara, Nepal: A museum with a window view of the Himalayas and an on-site climbing wall.

Saruhashi Bridge

Discover Saruhashi Bridge in Otsuki, Japan: According to legends, this bridge was crafted after monkeys formed a body-bridge across the gorge.

Prison de Kara

Discover Prison de Kara in Meknès, Morocco: Designed as a labyrinth, this subterranean prison was crafted without bars or doors.

Salt & Pepper Museum

Discover Salt & Pepper Museum in Larnaca, Cyprus: More than 20,000 salt and pepper shakers from across the globe call this museum home.

Spider Statue

Discover Spider Statue in Yerevan, Armenia: Destruction from Armenia's 1988 earthquake inspired an artist's sculptures of scrap metal.

Eagle Cliffs

Discover Eagle Cliffs in Sochi, Russia: These limestone cliffs are associated with the Greek myth of Prometheus.

Büyük Han

Discover Büyük Han in Lefkoşa, Cyprus: The largest caravanserai in Cyprus also includes amazing examples of Ottoman architecture.

Landsorts Lighthouse

Discover Landsorts Lighthouse in Landsort, Sweden: The oldest Swedish built lighthouse still guides ships through the archipelago.

Trevi Waterfall

Discover Trevi Waterfall in Rome, Italy: A magnificent waterfall is also home to the remains of a Roman hydraulic engineering system.

Hanmaum Zen Center of New York

Discover Hanmaum Zen Center of New York in Queens, New York: A temple belonging to the largest Buddhist order in South Korea nestled in the middle of New York City.

The York Ghost Merchants

Discover The York Ghost Merchants in York, England: Makers and sellers of the original and finest York Ghosts.

Mar Behnam Monastery

Discover Mar Behnam Monastery in Iraq: The history of Mar Behnam Monastery is that of violence, intolerance, resiliency, and spirituality.

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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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