Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Okazaki Shrine

Discover Okazaki Shrine in Kyoto, Japan: The cutest shrine in Kyoto is dedicated to bunnies.

William Kempe Memorial Tablet

Discover William Kempe Memorial Tablet in Finchingfield, England: Through seven years of burglary, bereavement, and bad luck, a gentleman kept his word by saying none.

Barnekow House

Discover Barnekow House in Anagni, Italy: A medieval house with mysterious alchemical inscriptions on its facade.

Salerno Medieval Aqueduct

Discover Salerno Medieval Aqueduct in Salerno, Italy: According to the legend, this structure was built in a single night with the help of the devil.

Brea Redwood Grove

Discover Brea Redwood Grove in Brea, California: A non-native grove of 241 redwoods in Southern California.

Waverley Abbey

Discover Waverley Abbey in Farnham, England: The ruins of a 12th-century Cistercian monastery can be found alongside World War II tank traps and pillboxes.

Hermitage of Saint Pelagius and Saint Isidore

Discover Ermita de San Pelayo y San Isidoro (Hermitage of Saint Pelagius and Saint Isidore) in Madrid, Spain: The remains of this misplaced church were moved here stone by stone.

Petroglyphs of Tsagaan Salaa-Baga Oigor

Discover Petroglyphs of Tsagaan Salaa-Baga Oigor in Ulaankhus, Mongolia: These ancient pecked images are among the oldest and best-preserved in Mongolia.

Captain Joshua Slocum Monument

Discover Captain Joshua Slocum Monument in Fairhaven, Massachusetts: A monument to the first person to sail around the world solo, nowhere close to where he was born, set sail, or landed.

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.

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