Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Europe’s Largest Pipe Organ

Discover Europe's Largest Pipe Organ in Passau, Germany: When a medieval fire claimed the original St. Stephen’s Cathedral, it sparked a pattern of unquenchable organ building.

Ulm Minster (Ulmer Münster)

Discover Ulm Minster (Ulmer Münster) in Ulm, Germany: The world's tallest church tower reveals a spectacular view to anyone up to the task of climbing the daunting staircase.

Nordlingen

Discover Nordlingen in Nördlingen, Germany: A meteorite-bounded town in Bavaria.

The Prinzhorn Collection

Discover The Prinzhorn Collection in Heidelberg, Germany: A collection of artworks exclusively created by the mentally ill that was almost burned by Nazi culture police.

The Prinzhorn Collection

Discover The Prinzhorn Collection in Heidelberg, Germany: A collection of artworks exclusively created by the mentally ill that was almost burned by Nazi culture police.

The Kongresshalle, Nuremberg

Discover The Kongresshalle, Nuremberg in Nuremberg, Germany: This abandoned coliseum was intended to be a grand Nazi rallying ground before it was halted at the end of the war.

Happy Rizzi House

Discover Happy Rizzi House in Brunswick, Germany: Bursting forth from a historic German neighborhood, these day-glo palaces are now a bright fixture in the town.

Mühlenplatz

Discover Mühlenplatz in Oberweser, Germany: The history of German architecture is explored across this fairy-scale mini-city.

The Kongresshalle, Nuremberg

Discover The Kongresshalle, Nuremberg in Nuremberg, Germany: This abandoned coliseum was intended to be a grand Nazi rallying ground before it was halted at the end of the war.

Museum of Medical History Hamburg

Discover Museum of Medical History Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany: Wax models of disease and deformity are on display at this German medical museum.

Wasserturm Prenzlauer Berg

Discover Wasserturm Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin, Germany: This water-tower-turned-high-end-apartment building was once the site of an early Nazi concentration camp.

Miniatur Wunderland

Discover Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany: Model Trains and Much More in Hamburg.

Chammünster Ossuary

Discover Chammünster Ossuary in Cham, Germany: In 1830, cemetery workers in Cham unearthed a chamber housing thousands of skeletal remains from the 13th century, which can still be viewed today.

Zeppelin Museum

Discover Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, Germany: Enter the cabin of a life-sized Hindenburg replica.

Mengenlehreuhr

Discover Mengenlehreuhr in Berlin, Germany: The world's first clock to use set theory as a measure of time required the invention of a new light bulb just to maintain its obtuse measurements.

Volklinger Ironworks

Discover Volklinger Ironworks in Völklingen, Germany: A former ironworks that was the first UNESCO industrial site.

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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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