Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Thimble Museum

Discover The Thimble Museum in Creglingen, Germany: A collection of 4,000 thimbles that's more versatile than one might imagine.

Museum in der “Runden Ecke”

Discover Museum in der "Runden Ecke" in Leipzig, Germany: This small exhibition displays equipment and artifacts once belonging to the feared Stasi secret police.

Kaspar Hauser Monument

Discover Kaspar Hauser Monument in Ansbach, Germany: The "feral child" who appeared in Bavaria in the 19th century remains as much a mystery as his unsolved murder.

The Thimble Museum

Discover The Thimble Museum in Creglingen, Germany: A collection of 4,000 thimbles that's more versatile than one might imagine.

Pfefferminzmuseum (Peppermint Museum)

Discover Pfefferminzmuseum (Peppermint Museum) in Eichenau, Germany: This small town in Germany was once a center of peppermint production, and has the museum to prove it.

Amöneburg

Discover Amöneburg in Amöneburg, Germany: Amöneburg is a town perched on top of a basalt mountain in the middle of an ancient meteor crater.

Soul of Africa Museum

Discover Soul of Africa Museum in Essen, Germany: Tucked away in a small German apartment is an eclectic museum devoted to West African vodun culture.

Oaks of Ivenack

Discover Oaks of Ivenack in Ivenack, Germany: The oldest trees in Northern Germany.

Laboe Naval Memorial

Discover Laboe Naval Memorial in Laboe, Germany: This monument to those fallen in the World Wars is accompanied by a U-boat that Germany bought for a Deutsche Mark.

Love Island and Castle Bring

Discover Love Island and Castle Bring in Edertal, Germany: Medieval ruins on a tiny island amid a flooded lake offer romantic respite to lovers seeking privacy.

The Empty German War Graves of Berchtesgaden

Discover The German War Graves of Berchtesgaden in Berchtesgaden, Germany: This small Bavarian graveyard is filled with empty graves for German soldiers lost during the World Wars.

Hinterkaifeck Memorial

Discover Hinterkaifeck Memorial in Waidhofen, Germany: A small concrete monument remembers a German cold case involving incest, farm tools, and psychics.

The Brocken

Discover The Brocken in Wernigerode, Germany: On the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, science and the occult faced off in a failed attempt to turn a goat into a boy.

Suurhusen Church

Discover Suurhusen Church in Hinte, Germany: The Suurhusen church tower in Germany leans over farther than the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Gänseliesel

Discover Gänseliesel in Göttingen, Germany: The Goose Girl of Göttingen, Germany might well be the most kissed girl in the world.

Molli Steam Tram

Discover Molli Steam Tram in Bad Doberan, Germany: A steam powered train that runs on city streets.

Stuttgart Winkel Tower

Discover Stuttgart Winkel Tower in Stuttgart, Germany: Remnants of a cone-shaped Nazi bomb shelter.

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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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