Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Ganryū-jima

Discover Ganryū-jima in Shimonoseki, Japan: The site of a famous samurai duel.

Nietzsche’s Path

Discover Nietzsche's Path in Èze, France: This mountain trail inspired Nietzsche to complete his magnum opus.

Mercatus Traiani (Trajan’s Market)

Discover Mercatus Traiani (Trajan's Market) in Rome, Italy: This ancient market is often referred to as the oldest shopping mall in the world.

Carnfunnock Ice House

Discover Carnfunnock Ice House in Ballygalley, Northern Ireland: This former ice house dates to the early 19th-century and featured an underground chamber.

Jewish Medieval Museum

Discover Jewish Medieval Museum in Fondi, Italy: This museum located in Fondi is also said to be the most haunted building in town.

Bagdad Cafe

Discover Bagdad Cafe in Newberry Springs, California: The set location for a 1987 cult classic draws international film buffs to the middle of the Mojave Desert.

Cleft Ridge Span

Discover Cleft Ridge Span in Brooklyn, New York: This elaborate tunnel is the first structure composed of cast concrete in the United States.

Gurkha Memorial Museum

Discover Gurkha Memorial Museum in Pokhara, Nepal: This institution honors Nepal’s most storied warriors.

Hermitage Castle

Discover Hermitage Castle in Hermitage, Scotland: This castle resides in a valley known for immense bloodshed during the Middle Ages.

Poppy Mural

Discover Poppy Mural in Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland: A local remembrance for lives lost—a poppy for each—in war more than 100 years ago.

Monumental Cemetery of Milan

Discover Monumental Cemetery of Milan in Milan, Italy: Artistic tombs, monuments, and a beautiful "Hall of Fame" lurk inside this cemetery.

Hucknall Miners Memorial

Discover Hucknall Miners Memorial in Hucknall, England: This imaginative sculpture is a memorial to this town's former mining industry.

Kings Square Gravestones

Discover Kings Square Gravestones in York, England: This popular square's history as the former site of a church is hidden in plain sight.

Grotte di Pilato

Discover Grotte di Pilato in Isola di Ponza, Italy: These artificial caves crafted by ancient Romans were elaborate fish farms for moray eels.

Sutri Amphitheatre

Discover Sutri Amphitheatre in Sutri, Italy: This Roman theater was crafted into the local tuff rock and was rediscovered during the 19th-century.

Glasnevin Cemetery and Museum

Discover Glasnevin Cemetery and Museum in Dublin, Ireland: This is the largest cemetery in Ireland and the first cemetery museum in the world.

Senju Shrine Bomb Shelter

Discover Senju Shrine Bomb Shelter in Tokyo, Japan: One of the few surviving World War II-era air-raid shelters in Tokyo.

George Washington’s Whiskey

Discover George Washington’s Whiskey in Alexandria, Virginia: Taste the white whiskey that the United States' first president once distilled and enjoyed.

Nana-chan Mannequin

Discover Nana-chan Mannequin in Nagoya, Japan: This giant fashion model is one of the most beloved symbols of Nagoya.

Semaforo di Monte Guardia

Discover Semaforo di Monte Guardia in Ponza, Italy: This abandoned semaphore station hearkens back to the days of the optical telegraph.

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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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