Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Rasiglia

Discover Rasiglia in Rasiglia, Italy: This medieval mountain town is also known as the "Village of Streams.".

Ponte delle Tette

Discover Ponte delle Tette in Venice, Italy: In the past, Renaissance sex workers were encouraged to entice customers on this bridge.

Isle of Man Steam Railway

Discover Isle of Man Steam Railway in Port Erin, Isle of Man: A 150-year-old steam locomotive crosses the southern half of the island daily.

Pighin Tower

Discover Pighin Tower in Rovigo, Italy: Inside this medieval defense tower stands a modern residential building.

Mexico City National Cemetery

Discover Mexico City National Cemetery in Mexico City, Mexico: Though the name might suggest otherwise, this is an American cemetery.

Electric Lady Studios

Discover Electric Lady Studios in New York, New York: Jimi Hendrix's legendary recording studio in Greenwich Village.

Daniel Boone Homestead

Discover Daniel Boone Homestead in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania: Where the famed frontiersman was born, raised, and survived Quaker intrigue.

War-Damaged Utility Pole Monument

Discover War-Damaged Utility Pole Monument in Tokyo, Japan: A sad reminder of the World War II bombing stands largely unnoticed on a street corner.

Arch of Trajan in Benevento

Discover Arch of Trajan in Benevento in Benevento, Italy: Unscathed for almost 2,000 years, the best preserved Roman triumphal arch is in a small southern Italian city.

St. Mary’s Church

Discover St. Mary's Church in Fairfax Station, Virginia: The most historic church in Fairfax County played a role in the creation of the American Red Cross.

Hatch the Mary Rose Dog

Discover Hatch the Mary Rose Dog in H M Naval Base, England: Discovered on a shipwreck after more than 400 years, this Renaissance ratter tells a very waggly tale.

Bling-Bling for the People

Discover Bling-Bling for the People in Stocksund, Sweden: Crystal chandeliers brighten up this dark underpass.

La Starza

Discover La Starza in Italy: This site marks the oldest known settlement in Campania, inhabited around 9,000 years ago.

Air Conditioned Village

Discover Air Conditioned Village in Austin, Texas: This unassuming North Austin neighborhood was built to test the novel idea of home air conditioning.

‘The Lord’

Discover 'The Lord' in Mid and East Antrim, Northern Ireland: This massive basalt sea stack stands obtrusively from the rocky coastline.

Milner’s Tower

Discover Milner's Tower in Port Erin, Isle of Man: A prison tower–like edifice honoring a beloved local benefactor.

Chapman State Park

Discover Chapman State Park in Indian Head, Maryland: A state park that once served as an important river crossing, and now offers protected lands for endangered plants and animals.

Judengang

Discover Judengang in Berlin, Germany: Once a path for Jewish funeral processions, this unassuming alleyway is rich in local lore.

Woodchester Mansion

Discover Woodchester Mansion in Gloucestershire, England: A well-studied colony of endangered bats roosts in this abandoned Victorian Gothic mansion.

Astrid Lindgren’s House

Discover Astrid Lindgrens Hem (Astrid Lindgren's House) in Stockholm, Sweden: The apartment where Pippi Longstocking came to life.

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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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