Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Circus Tavern

Discover Circus Tavern in Manchester, England: This tiny watering hole claims to have the smallest bar counter in Europe.

Pierce-Arrow Museum

Discover Pierce-Arrow Museum in Buffalo, New York: This Buffalo museum hides an Art Deco gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Sword of Goujian

Discover Sword of Goujian in Wuhan, China: This ancient sword lay in a waterlogged tomb for 2,500 years, but managed to remain relatively untarnished and impressively sharp.

Woodpecker Arch

Discover Woodpecker Arch in Ramah, New Mexico: This bird-shaped rock formation defies gravity, time, and classification.

Salem Witch Board Museum

Discover Salem Witch Board Museum in Salem, Massachusetts: A museum dedicated exclusively to the lore and history of ouija boards.

Barnet Museum

Discover Barnet Museum in London, England: At this small museum, visitors can view artifacts from the only battlefield in London during the War of the Roses.

Home of Thomas Hobbes

Discover Home of Thomas Hobbes in Malmesbury, England: The influential philosopher's old residence is commemorated in a small English town.

Twelve Apostles

Discover Twelve Apostles in Catacol, Scotland: These quaint cottages feature built-in signaling devices for fishermen.

Bannock Point Petroforms

Discover Bannock Point Petroforms in Wanipigow, Manitoba: Ancient indigenous sculptures steeped in history and shrouded in mystery.

Fortress Gorazda

Discover Fortress Gorazda in Škaljari, Montenegro: This World War I fortress is the perfect place to catch a Montenegrin sunset.

Seduvos Malunas

Discover Seduvos Malunas in Šeduva, Lithuania: A 100-plus-year-old mill transformed into a hotel and restaurant.

Victoriahuset (Victoria House)

Discover Victoriahuset (Victoria House) in Stockholm, Sweden: A rare surviving Victorian greenhouse designed specifically to house giant water lilies.

Fitz Overalls Ghost Sign

Discover Fitz Overalls Ghost Sign in Lindsborg, Kansas: This century-old painting of a portly 10-foot-tall man spent years hidden behind plaster.

Laguna Verde

Discover Laguna Verde in Bolivia: This lake’s emerald green waters are a spectacular sight, but it’s not a great place for a swim.

Peterloo Memorial

Discover Peterloo Memorial in Manchester, England: The city of Manchester quietly unveiled this tribute to a 19th-century massacre.

Benkyodo

Discover Benkyodo in San Francisco, California: This Japanese treats shop may have been the first business to mass-produce fortune cookies in the United States.

Inch Abbey

Discover Inch Abbey in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland: A medieval abbey featured on 'Game of Thrones' that dates back to the 12th-century.

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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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