Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Esquimalt Lagoon

Discover Esquimalt Lagoon in Victoria, British Columbia: This small beach park is littered with a collection of unique driftwood sculptures.

Lagman House

Discover Lagman House in Brooklyn, New York: The cuisine at this Sheepshead Bay spot tells the story of a displaced Muslim Chinese community.

McCaig’s Tower

Discover McCaig’s Tower in Oban, Scotland: Looking strangely like Rome's Colosseum, this unfinished tower has dominated the skyline for over 100 years.

Imjingak Resort

Discover Imjingak Resort in Paju, South Korea: A large visitor's complex and place of remembrance on the outskirts of the DMZ.

Partnachklamm (Partnach Gorge)

Discover Partnachklamm (Partnach Gorge) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany: Walk inside a half mile long crevice right outside the town of Garmisch Partenkirchen.

Mount Davidson Cross

Discover Mount Davidson Cross in San Francisco, California: Sitting atop San Francisco's tallest hill, a cross honors the victims of the Armenian genocide.

Asiago Astrophysical Observatory

Discover Asiago Astrophysical Observatory in Asiago, Italy: The 1940s structure houses what was once Europe's largest telescope.

Executed Russian POWs’ Memorial Graves

Discover Executed Russian POWs' Memorial Graves in Kristiansand, Norway: Five soviet prisoners of war were executed at this spot just days before the liberation of Norway.

Zacatecana House Museum

Discover Zacatecana House Museum in Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico: This eerily opulent residential museum is home to a haunting local legend.

Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Discover Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico: This colorful, geometric church beautifully embodies the Tapatía school of architecture.

Old Believers Museum

Discover Old Believers Museum in Kolkja, Estonia: Its collection offers a glimpse into the Russian Old Believers' centuries-old way of life.

Tomb of Anders Celsius

Discover Tomb of Anders Celsius in Uppsala, Sweden: A small church in Uppsala hides the grave of a renowned 18th-century astronomer.

Listening to the Future

Discover Listening to the Future in Cologne, Germany: Residing along a busy thoroughfare, this sculpture urges passersby to consider the future.

The Anatomy of Death Museum

Discover The Anatomy of Death Museum in Mount Clemens, Michigan: A museum dedicated to the dead and the tools used to usher them into the afterlife.

Dan Flavin Art Institute

Discover Dan Flavin Art Institute in Bridgehampton, New York: A fire station-turned-church-turned-museum dedicated to the work of seminal light artist Dan Flavin.

White Buddha Temple

Discover White Buddha Temple in Pai District, Thailand: A meditative walk up 353 stairs leads to a majestic white Buddha overlooking Pai.

Francis Gary Powers Memorial

Discover Francis Gary Powers Memorial in Pound, Virginia: A highway marker that honors a former spy plane pilot and local hero.

Qilakitsoq Mummies

Discover Qilakitsoq Mummies in Nuuk, Greenland: These eight mummies are the best-preserved human remains ever discovered in North America.

Villa Sposa

Discover Villa Sposa in Roxbury, New York: The former home of a disgraced local priest now hosts a mysterious secret supper club.

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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