Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Stone Head of Salaspils

Discover Stone Head of Salaspils in Riga, Latvia: This enigmatic artifact remained buried in a churchyard for years.

Garuda Wisnu Kencana Statue

Discover Garuda Wisnu Kencana Statue in Kuta Selatan, Indonesia: It took 28 years to build this massive statue of the Hindu god Vishnu riding a mythical bird.

Chicago’s Terra Cotta Row

Discover Terra Cotta Row in Chicago, Illinois: In a quiet north Chicago neighborhood rests a stunning relic of the golden age of earthenware design.

Ursa Beach

Discover Praia da Ursa in Colares, Portugal: In Portugal, a secluded stretch of untouched natural beauty hides at the bottom of a steep hill.

Kraatpaal

Discover Kraatpaal in Rotterdam, Netherlands: A strangely curved lamppost stands tall over this avenue in Rotterdam.

The Darmstadt Dioramas

Discover The Darmstadt Dioramas in Darmstadt, Germany: The zoological collection at the Hessisches Landesmuseum hosts some of the world's oldest habitat dioramas.

M. S. Factory, Valley

Discover M. S. Factory, Valley in Rhydymwyn, Cymru: Following years of secrecy, the hidden history of a World War II site is being brought to light.

Tacubaya’s Subway Mural

Discover Tacubaya's Subway Mural in Mexico City, Mexico: Inside a busy metro station, an impressive mural depicts the prehispanic city of Tenochtitlán.

The Craveri Museum

Discover Museo Civico Craveri di Storia Naturale in Bra, Italy: A collection of wonderfully preserved 19th-century creatures, as well as hunting trophies seized during a police raid.

Charing Cross Storm Tree

Discover Charing Cross Storm Tree in London, England: A living memorial to the trees London lost during the Great Storm of 1987.

African Cemetery at Higgs Beach

Discover African Cemetery at Higgs Beach in Key West, Florida: Near the ruins of a Civil War coastal fortress lies the only known African refugee cemetery in the United States.

Kit’s Coty House

Discover Kit's Coty House in Blue Bell Hill, England: The Neolithic megalith was one of the first archaeological ruins protected by the British government.

‘A Conversation With Oscar Wilde’

Discover 'A Conversation With Oscar Wilde' in London, England: An unusual ode to the late Irish playwright, complete with a squiggly bust and coffin-shaped bench.

The Seven Cats of Shantang Street

Discover The Seven Cats of Shantang Street in Suzhou, China: Thanks to a bit of wordplay, seven auspicious stone cats guard this ancient canalside street.

Andrew Young Crossing

Discover Andrew Young Crossing in St. Augustine, Florida: Bronze footprints mark the path where a civil rights leader tried to march in peaceful protest before being knocked unconscious.

BOS 400 Shipwreck

Discover BOS 400 Shipwreck in Cape Town, South Africa: The haunting beauty of this little-visited wreck makes it a true hidden treasure.

Moorish Cistern of Cáceres

Discover Moorish Cistern of Cáceres in Cáceres, Spain: The largest medieval water tank on the Iberian Peninsula is preserved beneath the Cáceres Museum.

Covão dos Conchos

Discover Covão dos Conchos in Portugal: This gaping hole in the middle of a remote mountain lake looks like a portal to another dimension.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 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. 474 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. 499 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. 633 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. 135 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. 167 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). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 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. 96 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. 166

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