Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Wooden Horse Museum

Discover Wooden Horse Museum in Stockholm, Sweden: This small museum nestled inside a souvenir shop is dedicated to Sweden's most well-known toy.

Charlotte Square

Discover Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, Scotland: This city square dates back to the Scottish Enlightenment and was home to some of Scotland's brightest minds.

Kasbah of the Udayas

Discover Kasbah of the Udayas in Rabat, Morocco: Morocco’s modern capital was once a haven for Barbary pirates, who went so far as to establish a republic of their own.

Soap Plant / Wacko

Discover Soap Plant / Wacko in Los Angeles, California: An expansive book store, art gallery, and curio shop with wares ranging from tarot cards to novelty socks.

The Main Line

Discover The Main Line in Nanuoya, Sri Lanka: Known as the most scenic route in Sri Lanka, this train line is steeped in history and offers an unparalleled view of the country.

Barrow Hill Roundhouse

Discover Barrow Hill Roundhouse in Barrow Hill, England: The last surviving roundhouse in the United Kingdom also plays host to a popular annual beer and music festival.

Valmont Butte

Discover Valmont Butte in Boulder, Colorado: This now-abandoned outcrop is an important Native American spiritual site, overtaken by European settlers and mining pollution.

The Llandoger Trow

Discover The Llandoger Trow in Bristol, England: A historic, reportedly haunted pub that provided inspiration for several famous adventure novels.

Keith Haring Mural

Discover Keith Haring Mural in Amsterdam, Netherlands: This massive mural by famed pop-artist Keith Haring was hidden for almost 30 years until its 2018 rediscovery.

Cadillac’s KISS Monument

Discover Cadillac's KISS Monument in Cadillac, Michigan: This monument honors the band's impromptu performance at Cadillac highschool's homecoming decades ago.

Unmarked Grave of Pierre Emile L’Angelier

Discover Unmarked Grave of Pierre Emile L'Angelier in Glasgow, Scotland: The final resting place of a poisoned lover whose death was at the center of one of Glasgow's most sensational murder trials.

Mentryville Park

Discover Mentryville Park in Stevenson Ranch, California: This park is home to California's first oil boomtown, with structures that have stood for more than a century.

Oleg’s Mound

Discover Oleg's Mound in Russia: This burial mound is said to be the final resting place of Russia's first Viking ruler, Oleg of Novogrod.

Dude Fire Memorial Grove

Discover Dude Fire Memorial Grove in Payson, Arizona: This small memorial is dedicated to the Perryville State Prison firefighters who perished fighting the Dude Fire in 1990.

Scaligero Castle

Discover Scaligero Castle in Sirmione, Italy: One of the most well-preserved castles in Italy also contains a rare medieval example of a port fortification.

Matsushima Bay

Discover Matsushima Bay in Matsushima, Japan: These tiny pine-covered islands have inspired art and poetry for centuries.

Palazzo dei Diamanti

Discover Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, Italy: This Renaissance palace features a unique architectural design and is now home to the Ferrara National Art Gallery.

Walter Galera Garden

Discover Walter Galera Garden in São Paulo, Brazil: Hidden in plain sight, this lush garden sits atop one of the most iconic buildings in São Paulo.

Haga Slottsgrund

Discover Haga Slottsgrund in Hagalund, Sweden: The palace for King Gustav III was never completed, but the foundation remains tucked away in this city park.

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