Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Jones Bar-B-Q Diner

Discover Jones Bar-B-Q Diner in Marianna, Arkansas: One of the most acclaimed eateries in Arkansas is a two-table diner on the ground floor of a family home.

Death Mask of Pakal the Great

Discover Death Mask of Pakal the Great in Mexico City, Mexico: The striking jade death mask of an ancient Maya king is displayed in a replica tomb in Mexico City.

La Granja de Esporles

Discover La Granja de Esporles in Esporles, Spain: This 17th-century manor house provides a fascinating glimpse into old-world Mallorcan life.

Anping Tree House

Discover Anping Tree House in Tainan City, Taiwan: The tangled roots of a giant banyan tree have fully reclaimed the ruins of this abandoned warehouse.

Garas Park Rest Camp

Discover Garas Park Rest Camp in Keetmanshoop, Namibia: A rustic place to spend the night, complete with amazing quiver trees and outsider art.

Moriarty Monument

Discover Moriarty Monument in New Orleans, Louisiana: The tallest monument in a historic New Orleans cemetery was prompted by romance and dash of pettiness.

Reading Museum Bayeux Tapestry

Discover Reading Museum Bayeux Tapestry in Reading, England: This unique, full-sized copy of the Bayeux Tapestry sports a few modern additions, including underwear.

St. Nicholas Church Memento Mori

Discover St. Nicholas Church Memento Mori in London, England: These morbid carvings remind churchgoers of the inevitability of death.

Ndola Slave Tree

Discover Ndola Slave Tree in Ndola, Zambia: Once a meeting point for Swahili slave traders, this ancient tree is now a monument to those killed by the slave trade.

Dumont Dunes North Pole

Discover Dumont Dunes North Pole in California: Peek inside this sandy mailbox and you'll spot kids' letters to Santa.

Vang Stave Church

Discover Vang Stave Church in Karpacz, Poland: This fairytale medieval church in Poland originally spent centuries in Norway.

Seurasaari Open Air Museum

Discover Seurasaari Open Air Museum in Helsinki, Finland: A small island dotted with old, historic Finnish buildings.

The Lioness and the Lesser Kudu

Discover The Lioness and the Lesser Kudu in London, England: This striking statue brings a scene from the African savannah into central London.

The Old Queens Head

Discover The Old Queens Head in Sheffield, England: Amidst towering office buildings, a local pub lives inside Sheffield’s oldest surviving domestic building.

Genius Treasure Museum

Discover Genius Treasure Museum in London, England: This informal museum is a magical trove of anonymous art collected from car boots and flea markets.

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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