Archives: Atlas Obscuras

World Championship Hoop Dance Contest

Discover World Championship Hoop Dance Contest in Phoenix, Arizona: This unique competition celebrates an American Indian and Canadian First Nation cultural tradition.

Mermaid of Warsaw

Discover Mermaid of Warsaw in Warsaw, Poland: The Polish capital has had a deep connection to its guardian mermaid for almost a millennium now.

Bar Farm Antiques

Discover Bar Farm Antiques in Barmby Moor, England: This quirky shop on a former farm is full of weird and wonderful oddities and antiques.

Viking Tombstone

Discover Viking Tombstone in London, England: This Viking gravestone carved in a rare runic style was dug up from a London churchyard.

The Hatton Flight

Discover The Hatton Flight in Hatton, England: Known as the "Stairway to Heaven," this historic canal dates back to the 1700s.

Comuna 13

Discover Comuna 13 in Medellín, Colombia: Outdoor escalators and art have helped change what was once a notoriously dangerous part of Medellín.

Museo Botero

Discover Museo Botero in Bogotá, Colombia: A celebration of Colombia’s premier contemporary artist.

Grave of Callum DeVillier

Discover Grave of Callum DeVillier in Minneapolis, Minnesota: For posterity, a singular achievement: 3,780 hours of dancing.

Fortaleza del Cerro

Discover Fortaleza del Cerro in Montevideo, Uruguay: This historic fort overlooks Montevideo and appears on Uruguay’s coat of arms.

Kuşadası

Discover Kuşadası in Kuşadası, Turkey: A charming beach town in Turkey captures all the colors of the rainbow.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum

Discover Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum in Warsaw, Poland: This biographical museum honors the groundbreaking scientist at her birthplace in Warsaw.

Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights

Discover Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights in Vilnius, Lithuania: This former KGB building is now a museum memorializing the people who suffered during the Soviet regime.

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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