Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Casa dei Crescenzi

Discover Casa dei Crescenzi in Rome, Italy: A rare example of a medieval house in Rome adorned with a melancholic inscription.

Dublin Writers Museum

Discover Dublin Writers Museum in Dublin, Ireland: This museum is dedicated to the most famous Irish writers in history.

‘A Drama in Time’

Discover 'A Drama in Time' in Edinburgh, Scotland: Neon artworks light up this dark Edinburgh tunnel.

Boelson Cottage

Discover Boelson Cottage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: This tiny cottage surrounded by railroads is the oldest surviving structure in Fairmount Park.

Jarjeer Mule And Donkey Refuge

Discover Jarjeer Mule And Donkey Refuge in Marrakesh, Morocco: This sanctuary is home to donkeys who finally get to rest after a life of toil.

Abandoned Badbea

Discover Abandoned Badbea in Highland, Scotland: An abandoned village where the ruined foundations cling to a cliff.

Truck-Eating Bridge

Discover Truck-Eating Bridge in Kirkland, Washington: A normal, unassuming pedestrian overpass has been the demise of many, many trucks.

Prometheus Esoterica

Discover Prometheus Esoterica in Winter Park, Florida: Hidden in the back of this quaint vintage store is an amazing little oddities shop.

Copper Crow Distillery

Discover Copper Crow Distillery in Bayfield, Wisconsin: Sip whey-based vodka at the first Native-owned distillery opened on a reservation in centuries.

The Demon of Palazzo Salina

Discover The Demon of Palazzo Salina in Bologna, Italy: This building features dozens of faces along its facade, although one is a bit chilling.

Penascosa Petroglyph

Discover Penascosa Petroglyph in Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Portugal: These rock drawings in the Côa Valley also create an ancient optical illusion.

Valour Road

Discover Valour Road in Winnipeg, Manitoba: Three young men who lived on this street are honored for their service during World War I.

730 Crossing

Discover 730 Crossing in Ishigaki, Japan: This monumental intersection commemorates the day Okinawa switched to driving on the left.

Grave of Hubert H. Humphrey

Discover Grave of Hubert H. Humphrey in Minneapolis, Minnesota: Vice President Humphrey's final resting place is tucked away in this cemetery along with a few other notable figures.

Hidden Murals of Lemon Grove

Discover Hidden Murals of Lemon Grove in Lemon Grove, California: Tucked away behind an unassuming set of shops is a must-see series of stunning murals.

Hakone Checkpoint

Discover Hakone Checkpoint in Hakone, Japan: A recreation of the historical checkpoint that once served as the gateway to Tokyo.

The Butter Market

Discover The Butter Market in Barnard Castle, England: This building was once a town hall, a fire station, a prison, a dairy market, and the target for two marksmen.

Pinova Vila

Discover Pinova Vila in Zrenjanin, Serbia: Once a beautiful palace, this structure is now known as the ''museum of destruction.".

Dunston Staiths

Discover Dunston Staiths in Gateshead, England: The largest timber structure in Europe.

Bromma Blocks

Discover Bromma Blocks in Stockholm, Sweden: These airport hangars are now a bustling shopping center with only hints of its past still lingering.

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