Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Anders Celsius’s Thermometer

Discover Anders Celsius's Thermometer in Uppsala, Sweden: The first thermometer made with the almost-universal temperature scale is backwards.

The Polaroid

Discover The Polaroid in Rotterdam, Netherlands: An enormous Polaroid picture adds an artistic flair to Rotterdam.

Niederegger Marzipan Museum

Discover Niederegger Marzipan Museum in Lübeck, Germany: Twelve sweet, nutty, life-sized statues are housed in this second-story shrine to almond paste.

Iglesia Santa Maria del Naranco

Discover Iglesia Santa Maria del Naranco in Oviedo, Spain: The atmospheric ruins of a historic church can be found on a hill above the city of Oviedo.

The Mafalda Monument

Discover The Mafalda Monument in Oviedo, Spain: The much-loved protagonist of famed Argentinian comics can be found sitting on a park bench.

Boulder Island

Discover Boulder Island in Nga Khin Nyo Gyee Island, Myanmar (Burma): This remote island known for its balancing boulder may have inspired Peter Pan's Neverland.

Tío Pepe Sign

Discover Tío Pepe Sign in Madrid, Spain: For decades, Puerta del Sol has been illuminated by a giant, guitar-wielding bottle of sherry.

Symonds Street Cemetery

Discover Symonds Street Cemetery in Auckland, New Zealand: One of Auckland's oldest cemeteries was partially demolished during the construction of a major highway in the 1960s. .

Torso in Metal from Rock Drill

Discover Torso in Metal from Rock Drill in London, England: This haunting sculpture was created as a statement on the mechanized warfare of the First World War.

Hydropolis

Discover Hydropolis in Wrocław, Poland: This oddly beautiful water cistern is a techno-temple to the wet stuff and a multimedia masterpiece.

Rochdale Pioneers Museum

Discover Rochdale Pioneers Museum in Rochdale, England: A museum of co-operativism housed in the birthplace of the modern movement.

Miajadas Tomato

Discover Miajadas Tomato in Miajadas, Spain: A small town celebrates its cash crop with a giant highway sculpture.

‘Highway of Death’

Discover 'Highway of Death' in Abdali, Kuwait: This road earned its macabre nickname after hundreds of Iraqi troops died along it in 1991.

Parc de Tsarasaotra

Discover Parc de Tsarasaotra in Antananarivo, Madagascar: See hundreds of herons and egrets in the heart of the city in this dreamy hidden park.

Parque del Oeste Pillboxes

Discover Parque del Oeste Pillboxes in Madrid, Spain: These three pillboxes still remain as a witness of the Spanish Civil War in a park of Madrid.

Star Mine Suspension Bridge

Discover Star Mine Suspension Bridge in Drumheller, Alberta: Not for the faint of heart, this long pedestrian bridge rewards those who brave the wobbly walk with a beautiful view.

Jurassic Museum of Asturias

Discover Jurassic Museum of Asturias in Colunga, Spain: A wonderful collection of fossilized dinosaurs and other creatures that roamed the landscape millions of years ago.

Failaka Island

Discover Failaka Island in Zoor, Kuwait: Wander among the ghostly ruins of an island where civilization flourished for thousands of years.

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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