Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Kigungu Missionary Landing Site

Discover Kigungu Missionary Landing Site in Entebbe, Uganda: A monument marks the spot where the first Catholic missionaries arrived in Uganda.

Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana

Discover Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana in Rome, Italy: Also known as the Square Colosseum, this building is a prime example of fascist-era rationalist architecture.

Bundy Museum of History and Art

Discover Bundy Museum of History and Art in Binghamton, New York: This local landmark is home to art galleries and the area's only community darkroom.

Zoo Miguel Álvarez del Toro

Discover Zoo Miguel Álvarez del Toro in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico: Catch a glimpse of local, native wildlife at this zoo dedicated to conservation and education.

Old Tailem Town

Discover Old Tailem Town in Tailem Bend, Australia: This pioneer village is like a time capsule of 19th-century Australia.

Costitx Bulls

Discover Costitx Bulls in Madrid, Spain: These ancient artifacts are a testament to the enduring significance of the bull in Spanish culture.

Nazaretian House

Discover Nazaretian House in Gaziantep, Turkey: A beautiful 19th-century Armenian mansion is preserved above an unassuming cafe.

Barolo Wine Museum

Discover Barolo Wine Museum in Barolo, Italy: A stunning medieval castle houses this eclectic, interactive tribute to all things wine.

Östermalm Echo Dome

Discover Östermalm Echo Dome in Stockholm, Sweden: Sound travels strangely in this underground whispering gallery.

Cenotaphs of Orchha

Discover Cenotaphs of Orchha in Orchha, India: These medieval funerary monuments are now home to a colony of critically endangered vultures.

Billionth Barrel Monument

Discover Billionth Barrel Monument in Seria, Brunei: A monument built to commemorate the billionth barrel of oil extracted from the Seria oil field in Brunei.

Rabbit Skull Relief

Discover Rabbit Skull Relief in Palenque, Mexico: The enigmatic skull gazes out over the ruins of a once-great Mayan city.

Sidi Saiyyed Mosque

Discover Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedabad, India: This 16th-century mosque is the hallmark of the African architectural legacy in India.

Wat Phia Wat

Discover Wat Phia Wat in Muang Khoun, Laos: This ruined temple's giant Buddha statue bears the scars of the Second Indochina War.

Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque

Discover Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan: The controversial final resting place of the equally controversial first president of Turkmenistan.

Reginald the Grasshopper

Discover Reginald the Grasshopper in Regina, Saskatchewan: This bushy bug is one of the unsanctioned public sculptures that have survived in Regina.

Albert Memorial Bridge

Discover Albert Memorial Bridge in Regina, Saskatchewan: This Art Deco landmark claims to be the longest bridge over the shortest span of water in the world.

Drukgyel Dzong

Discover Drukgyel Dzong in Paro, Bhutan: The ruins of an abandoned 17th-century fort that was almost completely destroyed by a fire.

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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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