Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Arctic Guesthouse & Igloos

Discover Arctic Guesthouse & Igloos in Ranua, Finland: This bed and breakfast is steeped in history and offers guests a unique way to experience nature—glass igloos on a frozen lake.

The Lion of Chaeronea

Discover The Lion of Chaeronea in Greece: Τhis feline monument commemorates fallen soldiers on a field that saw many, many battles.

Montevergine Sanctuary

Discover Montevergine Sanctuary in Mercogliano, Italy: During World War II, the Shroud of Turin was secreted to this remote southern Italian complex.

Lake Thetis

Discover Lake Thetis in Cervantes, Australia: One of the few places in the world home to living stromatolites.

Cedarcrest Hospital

Discover Cedarcrest Hospital in Newington, Connecticut: An overgrown and abandoned tuberculosis ward resides in the midst of a quaint modern neighborhood.

Forbes Mausoleum

Discover Forbes Mausoleum in Falkirk, Scotland: This abandoned mausoleum from 1815 sits deep within the forest surrounding Callendar House.

Everest’s Grave

Discover Everest's Grave in Hove, England: An unassuming churchyard is the resting place of a pioneering surveyor and reluctant namesake of a mountain.

Wado Ruins

Discover Wado Ruins in Chichibu, Japan: The birthplace of Japanese coinage.

Laurel Hill House

Discover Laurel Hill House in Lorton, Virginia: Standing for over 200 years, the abandoned home of a Revolutionary War hero and later a succession of prison superintendents.

De Leidse Zeemijn (Leiden’s Naval Mine)

Discover De Leidse Zeemijn (Leiden's Naval Mine) in Leiden, Netherlands: The remnants of a WWI naval mine that once terrorized the country now decorates a street.

Central Café and Restaurant 1887

Discover Central Café and Restaurant 1887 in Budapest, Hungary: Some of the greatest minds in the history of Hungarian art and science converged in this café.

Travelers Chapel

Discover Travelers Chapel in Conway, South Carolina: This tiny chapel next to a highway provides weary travelers a place to rest, pray, or maybe even get married.

Sunrise Resort

Discover Sunrise Resort in East Haddam, Connecticut: An abandoned 146-acre summer resort slowly being reclaimed by nature.

Dowles Graveyard

Discover Dowles Graveyard in Bewdley, England: The church is gone, but the graves and legends remain.

Sacello Ipogeico

Discover Sacello Ipogeico in Paestum, Italy: The only visible remains of this ancient Greek underground temple is its roof protruding from the earth.

‘Constantine the Great’

Discover 'Constantine the Great' in York, England: This sculpture marks the spot where one of the greatest Roman rulers was proclaimed emperor.

Jones Bar-B-Q Vending Machine

Discover Jones Bar-B-Q Vending Machine in Kansas City, Kansas: Why settle for barbecue chips when you can get actual barbecue?

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