Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Street Art Museum

Discover Street Art Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia: An art museum inside an active factory.

Taxidermy Whale of Fribourg

Discover Taxidermy Whale of Fribourg in Fribourg, Switzerland: This unique preservation is one of the only taxidermies in the world made with real whale skin.

History of Lisbon Mural

Discover History of Lisbon Mural in Lisbon, Portugal: Hidden beneath a beautiful overlook you’ll find the history of the city depicted in comic strip format next to a pay toilet.

Quiver Tree Forest

Discover Quiver Tree Forest in Keetmanshoop, Namibia: A rare cluster of alien-like plants grows along a dusty highway.

The Millennial Dragon Tree

Discover Drago Milenario in Icod de los Vinos, Spain: This local emblem is the oldest and largest dragon tree in the Canary Islands.

Amparo Museum

Discover Amparo Museum in Puebla, Mexico: This beautiful and unmissable little museum is full of fascinating artifacts from Mesoamerica's great civilizations.

Ranua Wildlife Park

Discover Ranua Wildlife Park in Ranua, Finland: Finland's northernmost zoo is home to the country's only polar bears.

Craswall Priory

Discover Craswall Priory in Craswall, England: Britain’s highest medieval monastery is a remote ruin nestled at the head of a valley 1,240 feet above the sea.

Oakley Court

Discover Oakley Court in Bray, England: You can spend the night in Dr. Frank-N-Furter's castle.

Sparky’s

Discover Sparky's in Hatch, New Mexico: A wealth of pop culture statuary and green chile dishes give this roadside restaurant clout.

Manyate Coffee Village

Discover Manyate Coffee Village in Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia: An Ethiopian cloud forest protects some of the last wild arabica plants.

Tonkararin

Discover Tonkararin in Tamana, Japan: A mysterious set of tunnels carved in the hills of rural northern Kyushu.

Rungis International Market

Discover Rungis International Market in Chevilly-Larue, France: Walk through spectacular aisles of hanging meat and wagon wheel–sized cheese at the world's largest wholesale food market.

Freak Alley Gallery

Discover Freak Alley Gallery in Boise, Idaho: The largest outdoor art gallery in the Northwest United States.

Ghost Mask Museum

Discover Ghost Mask Museum in New Taipei City, Taiwan: One man's hand-sculpted collection of colorful masks representing a host of gruesome spirits.

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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