Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Paul Kroegel Statue

Discover Paul Kroegel Statue in Sebastian, Florida: A memorial to the United States's first wildlife refuge warden.

Seventh Street Improvement Arches

Discover Seventh Street Improvement Arches in Saint Paul, Minnesota: This double-arched masonry highway bridge is the only structure of its kind in Minnesota.

St Catherine’s College

Discover St Catherine's College in Oxford, England: This slice of 1960s Danish modernism does not conform to the Oxford college stereotypes.

Moray House Garden Pavilion

Discover Moray House Garden Pavilion in Edinburgh, Scotland: This unassuming shed was the stage for a monumental event in British history.

Wat Arun

Discover Wat Arun in Khwaeng Wat Arun, Thailand: This dazzling Buddhist temple was constructed from over one million ceramic tiles salvaged from a British shipwreck.

Gnome Holm

Discover Gnome Holm in Red Rock, Australia: In this Red Rock forest, a small enclave plays host to a collection of wacky figurines.

Museo de Sitio (In Situ Museum)

Discover Museo de Sitio (In Situ Museum) in Arica, Chile: Walk on a glass floor suspended over ancient mummified remains.

Gem Spa

Discover Gem Spa in New York, New York: For almost a century, this East Village newsstand has served egg creams to beats, hippies, punks, and everything in between.

Hachikō’s Grave

Discover Hachikō's Grave in Tokyo, Japan: People from around the world visit the shrine of Japan’s legendarily loyal dog.

Aeroseum

Discover Aeroseum in Säve, Sweden: This declassified Cold War bunker hosts a large collection of Swedish aircraft.

Puerto de Altura (Progreso Pier)

Discover Puerto de Altura (Progreso Pier) in Progreso, Mexico: It would take you approximately an hour and a half to walk to the end of Mexico's largest pier.

Pokaini Forest

Discover Pokaini Forest in Naudītes Pagasts, Latvia: Mysterious heaps of stones dot these otherworldly woods.

Northern Gannet Colonies

Discover Northern Gannet Colonies in Percé, Québec: More than 50,000 gannets claim the cliffs of Bonaventure Island.

Henry McNeil Mural

Discover Henry McNeil Mural in Larne, Northern Ireland: The artwork is a community's ode to the "father of Irish tourism.".

Isolatorenmuseum (Museum of Insulators)

Discover Isolatorenmuseum (Museum of Insulators) in Lohr am Main, Germany: A unique collection of electric insulators on display in a former transformer station.

Newspaper Rock

Discover Newspaper Rock in Monticello, Utah: One of the world’s largest collections of petroglyphs records 2,000 years of human activity.

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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