Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Schwerbelastungskörper

Discover Schwerbelastungskörper in Berlin, Germany: Super-heavy Nazi architectural experiment.

Dachau Concentration Camp

Discover Dachau Concentration Camp in Dachau, Germany: The prototype for all Nazi concentration camps.

Führerbunker Parking Lot

Discover Führerbunker Parking Lot in Berlin, Germany: The bunker where Hitler took his own life is hidden under this deliberately ordinary parking lot.

Rathaus-Glockenspiel

Discover Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich, Germany: Daily jousts and dancing barrel makers in Munich's mechanical clock.

Externsteine

Discover Externsteine in Horn-Bad Meinberg, Germany: Between Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis, these strange rock formations have a curious cult following and a very strange history.

Museum der Dinge

Discover Museum der Dinge in Berlin, Germany: From toys to kettles to scientific instruments, this German museum celebrates the beauty of 20th century design.

Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum

Discover Berliner Medizinhistorisches Museum in Berlin, Germany: Home to 10,000 medical specimens including the remains of Rudolf Virchow's extensive collection of pathological specimens.

The Bebelplatz

Discover The Bebelplatz in Berlin, Germany: The site of the famous Nazi book burning campaign of 1933 remembers its "Night of Shame".

Gärten der Welt (Gardens of the World)

Discover Gärten der Welt (Gardens of the World) in Berlin, Germany: Gardens representing parts of Asia, Europe, and the Mid East are tucked away among the Soviet-style buildings in East Berlin.

The Bierpinsel

Discover The Bierpinsel in Berlin, Germany: A tree-like building perches on its trunk in the Steglitz neighborhood of Berlin.

Krämerbrücke

Discover Krämerbrücke in Erfurt, Germany: This historic stone bridge has an entire neighborhood clinging to its sides.

Beelitz Heilstätten

Discover Beelitz Heilstätten in Beelitz, Germany: Terrifying derelict military hospital once housed a recuperating Hitler.

The Bierpinsel

Discover The Bierpinsel in Berlin, Germany: A tree-like building perches on its trunk in the Steglitz neighborhood of Berlin.

Schwebebahn Wuppertal

Discover Schwebebahn Wuppertal in Wuppertal, Germany: This "floating railway" is one of the world's oldest monorail systems.

Umschreibung

Discover Umschreibung in Munich, Germany: A stairway to heaven, or to nowhere at all.

Church of St. Ursula

Discover Church of St. Ursula in Cologne, Germany: A church filled with the bones of hundreds of virgins martyrs—or so they say.

The Eagle’s Nest

Discover The Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany: Soaring over 6,000 feet in the Bavarian Alps, this beer garden was once Hitler's 50th birthday present.

The Eagle’s Nest

Discover The Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden, Germany: Soaring over 6,000 feet in the Bavarian Alps, this beer garden was once Hitler's 50th birthday present.

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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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