Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Grand Circus Hotel

Discover Grand Circus Hotel in Malmö, Sweden: At this bohemian accommodation, guests who dream of joining the circus can spend the night in themed wagons.

Cirkulation II

Discover Cirkulation II in Linköping, Sweden: This simple roadside art installation ended up sparking a folk art movement and a controversy of international proportions.

Walking to Boras

Discover Walking to Boras in Borås, Sweden: A colossal strolling Pinocchio that was greeted with more outrage than whimsy.

King Chulalongkorn Memorial

Discover King Chulalongkorn Memorial in Ragunda S, Sweden: An ornate Thai pavilion in the middle of Sweden.

Dragon Gate

Discover Dragon Gate in Älvkarleby S, Sweden: Not quite the cultural gateway between China and Sweden its designer imagined.

High Chaparral Wild West Theme Park

Discover High Chaparral Wild West Theme Park in Gnosjö S, Sweden: The lost American era of gunfighters, bandits, Indians and steam trains is recreated in Sweden.

Lövestad Carved Statues

Discover Lövestad Carved Statues in Sjöbo, Sweden: Rocks carved with biblical passages in the 1800s.

The Nose Academy

Discover The Nose Academy in Lund, Sweden: One hundred plaster casts of Scandinavian proboscises.

Giant Wooden Bear of Sveg

Discover Giant Wooden Bear of Sveg in Sveg, Sweden: This massive Trojan ursine was built to be a new tourist symbol for a small Swedish town.

Forsby-Köping Limestone Cableway

Discover Forsby-Köping Limestone Cableway in Forsby, Sweden: The remnants of a record-setting industrial bucket system can still be found dotting the Swedish countryside.

Slottsskogen pacifier tree

Discover Slottsskogen pacifier tree in Gothenburg, Sweden: There are no crying babies in this neck of the woods.

Storsjon’s Highway Ice Bridge

Discover Storsjon's Highway Ice Bridge in Östersund V, Sweden: Winter roadtrips are a little more exciting on this seasonal, slippery expansion of Sweden's national highway system.

Västerbottensost Visitors Center

Discover Västerbottensost Visitors Center in Skellefteå, Sweden: This little gallery is devoted to one small town's passion for a very special cheese.

Växjö Echo Tower

Discover Växjö Echo Tower in Växjö, Sweden: The dome-shaped reservoir of this old water tower produces unique acoustic effects.

Lenin Spa

Discover Lenin Spa in Varberg, Sweden: Take a schvitz just like an infamous Soviet dictator while his unblinking eye looks on.

Gislövshammar

Discover Gislövshammar in Gislövshammar, Sweden: These mysterious circular formations are actually remnants of 19th century gristmills.

Maritiman

Discover Maritiman in Gothenburg, Sweden: The world's biggest floating museum in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Republic of Önneköp

Discover Republic of Önneköp in Önneköp, Sweden: This micronation's flag honors its favorite drink, Kaffegöken, or "cuckoo-coffee.".

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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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