Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Paul Bunyan’s Gravesite

Discover Paul Bunyan's Gravesite in Kelliher, Minnesota: A memorial to a larger-than-life legend, inside a county that also holds Bunyan's death certificate.

Site of the Porteous Riots

Discover Site of the Porteous Riots in Edinburgh, Scotland: The location of a citizen uprising that led to a gruesome act of mob justice.

Alavian Dome

Discover Alavian Dome in Hamedan, Iran: This mosque turned crypt is an amazing display of Persian-Islamic architecture.

Carnlough Harbor

Discover Carnlough Harbor in Carnlough, Northern Ireland: This stone harbor was key to Carnlough's limestone industry.

Rumeli Hisari

Discover Rumeli Hisari in Istanbul, Turkey: This half-forgotten fortress was constructed by the Ottoman conqueror of Constantinople.

Prästens Badkar (The Priests Bathtub)

Discover Prästens Badkar (The Priests Bathtub) in Simrishamn, Sweden: The world's only above water sand volcano, believed to once be the bathtub of a priest.

Gol Stave Church Museum

Discover Gol Stave Church Museum in Minot, North Dakota: This museum is a full-size replica of an original church constructed during the 13th-century.

15 London Street

Discover 15 London Street in Edinburgh, Scotland: Inside this home, the Icelandic national anthem was born.

The Wren’s Eggs

Discover The Wren's Eggs in Whitehead, Northern Ireland: These huge glacial erratics are humorously named after a much much smaller bird.

Lake of Cutilia

Discover Lake of Cutilia in Vasche, Italy: This lake was sacred to the Sabine people who constructed a temple here on a floating island.

Paperback Bookshop Rhinoceros

Discover Paperback Bookshop Rhinoceros in Edinburgh, Scotland: This small sculpture honors a shuttered bookshop that was the site of a fiery act of protest.

Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery

Discover Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia: This memorial complex contains several mass graves for victims of the Siege of Leningrad.

Serbia’s Rocky Statue

Discover Serbia's Rocky Statue in Žitište, Serbia: It may seem a little out of place in a tiny village, but the inspiring story of its creation made headlines.

Fayette Historic Townsite

Discover Fayette Historic Townsite in Garden, Michigan: This 19th-century ghost town offers a stunning view of Lake Michigan and a journey through the region's industrial past.

Medieval Water Pipes

Discover Medieval Water Pipes in Edinburgh, Scotland: These wooden pipes were crucial to providing water to Medieval Edinburgh.

Margate Caves

Discover Margate Caves in Margate, England: This forgotten chalk mine was reopened thanks to a massive effort from the local community.

Mount Hiyori

Discover Mount Hiyori in Sendai, Japan: Officially the lowest mountain in Japan.

Old No. 8 Schoolhouse

Discover Old No. 8 Schoolhouse in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania: Antiques and recycled art surround this cabin designed to resemble a 19th-century schoolhouse.

Cripta di San Magno

Discover Cripta di San Magno in Anagni, Italy: The “Sistine Chapel” of the Middle Ages merges 11th-century science and religion in wondrous hues.

Mount Tambora

Discover Mount Tambora in Indonesia: Mount Tambora is the site of the largest and deadliest volcanic eruption in recorded human history.

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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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