Archives: Atlas Obscuras

‘Saint Bartholomew Flayed’

Discover 'Saint Bartholomew Flayed' in Milan, Italy: This grisly effigy displays an early Christian martyr who was skinned alive and beheaded.

Paddy the Pigeon Plaque

Discover Paddy the Pigeon Plaque in Carnlough, Northern Ireland: A harbor town pays tribute to a heroic wartime carrier pigeon.

Sese Grande

Discover Sese Grande in Pantelleria, Italy: This megalithic tomb was crafted by a mysterious civilization that settled the island of Pantelleria.

Franklin Street Bridge Monument

Discover Franklin Street Bridge Monument in East Peoria, Illinois: Steel remnants of a bridge make up a unique sculpture along the banks of the Illinois River.

Abandoned Leper Colony of Arico

Discover Abandoned Leper Colony of Arico in Abades, Spain: An unexpected ghost village lurks on the southeast coast of Tenerife.

Barn Attic

Discover Barn Attic in Harleysville, Pennsylvania: Inside this 150-year-old barn turned antique shop is a vast array of items for curios hunters.

Monumento ai Lupi di Toscana

Discover Monumento ai Lupi di Toscana in San Giovanni di Duino, Italy: Two bronze wolves atop this large rock honor the "Wolves of Tuscany" brigade of World War I.

Emancipation Oak

Discover Emancipation Oak in Hampton, Virginia: This tree is a living witness to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement.

Obelisk of Odzun

Discover Obelisk of Odzun in Odzun, Armenia: An unusual double-stelae obelisk with ancient and mysterious origins.

Clava Cairns

Discover Clava Cairns in Inverness, Scotland: This site contains overlapping ancient graveyards that existed about 1,000 years apart.

Old Abe

Discover Old Abe in Madison, Wisconsin: A renowned Civil War veteran, this Bald eagle now presides over the Wisconsin State Assembly.

The Gravesite of Robert Ford

Discover The Gravesite of Robert Ford in Creede, Colorado: The temporary burial site of the man who shot and killed Jesse James.

Kelly Ghost Town

Discover Kelly Ghost Town in Magdalena, New Mexico: The ruins of this former mining boomtown once housed over 3,000 people. Now, the population is two.

Tarpeian Rock

Discover Tarpeian Rock in Rome, Italy: In the early Roman Empire, people deemed traitors and criminals were tossed to their deaths from this rock.

Carraig Fhada Lighthouse

Discover Carraig Fhada Lighthouse in Isle of Islay, Scotland: An unusually shaped lighthouse with origins rooted in heartbreak.

Orinoro Gorge

Discover Orinoro Gorge in Leppävirta, Finland: Hidden deep in a forest is this geological wonder carved by glaciers.

Deildartunguhver

Discover Deildartunguhver in Deildartunguhver, Iceland: Europe’s most powerful hot spring supplies the surrounding region with hot water.

Knockagh Monument

Discover Knockagh Monument in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland: High on a hill, an obelisk stands as tribute to local soldiers from several wars.

Wallyford ‘Miner’s Stone’

Discover Wallyford 'Miner's Stone' in Wallyford, Scotland: This carved memorial is dedicated to the miners who died working in the town's collieries.

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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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