Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Sisupalgarh

This ancient city was built in a perfect square.

Arco Naturale

Discover Arco Naturale (Natural Arch) in Capri, Italy: This clifftop arch is a natural stunner.

Segóbriga Archaeological Park

Discover Segóbriga Archaeological Park in Saelices, Spain: One of the most important Celtic-Roman archaeological sites in Spain.

‘Babies’

Discover 'Babies' in Prague, Czechia: Straight out of a nightmare, barcode-faced babies climb up and down Prague's television tower.

Royal Stables of Meknes

Discover Royal Stables of Meknes in Meknes, Morocco: The ruins of an early-18th-century complex that could once house up to 12,000 horses.

John Muir’s Giant Sequoia

Discover John Muir's Giant Sequoia in Martinez, California: A sparse, solitary sequoia still stands as a living tribute to the famous conservationist who planted it—but it's dying.

Tashkooh Burning Hill

Discover Tashkooh Burning Hill in Ramhormoz, Iran: Leaking natural gas never stops burning on this hill, making it an infinite inferno.

Beatriz de la Fuente Teotihuacán Murals Museum

Discover Beatriz de la Fuente Teotihuacán Murals Museum in San Martín Centro, Mexico: These millennia-old murals once covered the walls of residential complexes across the ancient city.

Cast-Iron Dogs of Tivoli Castle

Discover Cast-Iron Dogs of Tivoli Castle in Ljubljana, Slovenia: Strange rumors surround the artist who created these solemn metal guard dogs.

The Rufus Stone

Discover The Rufus Stone in Minstead, England: A stone, covered in metal, commemorating an event that happened somewhere else a thousand years ago.

Agongointo-Zoungoudo Archaeological Park

Discover Agongointo-Zoungoudo Archaeological Park in Bohicon, Benin: This subterranean town of over 50 dwellings lies thirty feet beneath the Earth's surface.

Osterley Bookshop

Discover Osterley Bookshop in Osterley, England: Above an abandoned Underground station, this charming bookstore is home to strange antiquities and literary works.

‘Celebration of Water’ Sculpture

Discover 'Celebration of Water' Sculpture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: This sculpture of a fisherman spent six years at the bottom of the Schuylkill River.

Villa Montezuma

Discover Villa Montezuma in San Diego, California: A magnificent, reportedly haunted mansion built for a composer by Spiritualists.

Chen Art Gallery

Discover Chen Art Gallery in Torrance, California: This Chinese art gallery is hidden inside the Sunrider Corporation headquarters.

Modlin Fortress Granary

Discover Modlin Fortress Granary in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki, Poland: In northeastern Poland, the ruins of a massive granary overlook the Narew River.

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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

PP ToS