Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Museo de la Marimba (Marimba Museum)

Discover Museo de la Marimba (Marimba Museum) in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico: This museum honors a unique musical instrument of African origins, whose sound defines a city.

Castello Aragonese (Aragonese Castle)

Discover Castello Aragonese (Aragonese Castle) in Le Castella, Italy: This scenic fortress dates back at least 2,400 years to the time of Magna Graecia.

Juan Manuel Fangio Statue

Discover Juan Manuel Fangio Statue in Monaco, Monaco: This statue of the great Argentinian car driver is located near a famous curve of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Roppongi Hills Street Furniture

Discover Roppongi Hills Street Furniture in Tokyo, Japan: This quirky collection of furniture also happens to be a public art installation.

World’s Largest Working Wooden Yo-Yo

Discover World's Largest Working Wooden Yo-Yo in Chico, California: Hidden inside a gift shop that doubles as a museum, this gargantuan yo-yo can only be operated by crane.

Piè di Marmo (Marble Foot)

Discover Piè di Marmo (Marble Foot) in Rome, Italy: A massive marble foot is tucked away in a small alley near the Pantheon.

Tamié Abbey

Discover Tamié Abbey in Plancherine, France: At this monastery, monks make raw-milk cheese and use excess whey to create methane that powers their hot-water system.

Union Oyster House

Discover Union Oyster House in Boston, Massachusetts: This nearly 200-year-old restaurant's history includes an exiled French prince, JFK, and a very hungry Daniel Webster.

The Bouquinistes of Paris

Discover The Bouquinistes of Paris in Paris, France: The tradition of open-air secondhand and antiquarian bookselling in Paris dates back to the Renaissance.

Ghost Town of Rovaiolo Vecchio

Discover Ghost Town of Rovaiolo Vecchio in Brallo di Pregola, Italy: An abandoned village, frozen in time by the threat of a landslide.

Yufuin Floral Village

Discover Yufuin Floral Village in Yufu, Japan: This amusement park brings a little slice of England to the heart of Kyushu.

KuKu Club

Discover KuKu Club in Tallinn, Estonia: An underground nightclub helped spark a "Singing Revolution.".

Pleasant Hill Memorial

Discover Pleasant Hill Memorial in Holly, Colorado: A monument at the site of the Towner School Bus Tragedy, which lead to changes in school bus safety.

Svörtuloft Lighthouse

Discover Svörtuloft Lighthouse in Iceland: A Wes Anderson-esque lighthouse that boasts magnificent coastal views.

Hodota Burial Mounds

Discover Hodota Burial Mounds in Takasaki, Japan: A trio of keyhole-shaped burial mounds has been restored to its ancient state.

La Picá de Clinton

Discover La Picá de Clinton in Santiago, Chile: How a lunch counter in Chile became a shrine to the 42nd president of the United States.

Sopotnički Vodopadi

Discover Sopotnički Vodopadi in Sopotnica, Serbia: This natural monument has an origin story steeped in legend.

Walker Mansion Ruins

Discover Walker Mansion Ruins in Morrison, Colorado: This massive home was constructed by one of the greatest conservationists in Colorado history.

Nathaniel Dett Memorial Chapel

Discover Nathaniel Dett Memorial Chapel in Niagara Falls, Ontario: This 1836 church, constructed by formerly enslaved people, honors a leader in Afrocentric music.

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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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