Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Evoluon

Discover Evoluon in Eindhoven, Netherlands: A UFO-shaped event building originally intended to be a science museum showcasing the future.

Hortus Botanicus Leiden

Discover Hortus Botanicus Leiden in Leiden, Netherlands: A 'living museum' in Leiden, the oldest of its kind in the Netherlands.

Pianola Museum

Discover Pianola Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands: A unique collection of gilded age mechanical pianos.

Efteling Sprookjesbos

Discover Efteling Sprookjesbos in Kaatsheuvel, Netherlands: This fairy tale forest hides scenes from some of the more obscure and bizarre Western nursery stories.

St. Pietersberg Caves

Discover St. Pietersberg Caves in Maastricht, Netherlands: Incredible labyrinth of man made caves.

Corpus Museum

Discover Corpus Museum in Oegstgeest, Netherlands: The world's first interactive human body museum also serves as a chair for a giant orange man.

Jheronimus Bosch Art Center

Discover Jheronimus Bosch Art Center in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Take a stroll through the hellish grotesques of Hieronymus Bosch in this elaborate Netherlands church.

Pyramid of Austerlitz

Discover Pyramid of Austerlitz in Woudenberg, Netherlands: A grassy pyramid named after a French battle.

Kasteelruine Fluweelengrot

Discover Kasteelruine Fluweelengrot in Valkenburg, Netherlands: The ruins of this Dutch castle sit atop a labyrinth of once-secret tunnels and passageways, dating back over 900 years.

Cube Houses

Discover Cube Houses in Rotterdam, Netherlands: These slanted cubic abodes are a creative if odd solution to a zoning pickle.

Museum Speelklok

Discover Museum Speelklok in Utrecht, Netherlands: This Netherlands museum holds a gloriously mechanical collection of ornate musical automata.

Museum of Bags and Purses

Discover Tassen Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam, Netherlands: The largest collection of handbags in the world, the oldest of which were used to carry Bibles, primarily by men.

Selexyz Dominicanen

Discover Selexyz Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands: This centuries-old gothic monster has been converted into a sprawling, glossy bookstore.

Celestial Vault

Discover Celestial Vault in The Hague, Netherlands: Hidden within a Netherlands crater is a stone bed that lets those who lie in it see the sky as a curved surface.

Teylers Museum

Discover Teylers Museum in Haarlem, Netherlands: Oldest Museum of the Netherlands is a true cabinet of curiosities.

Windmills of Kinderdijk

Discover Windmills of Kinderdijk in Kinderdijk, Netherlands: Birthplace of the "Cat in the Cradle" and a cluster of iconic, original windmills that let the Dutch tame the seas.

Keukenhof Gardens

Discover Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, Netherlands: Unsurprisingly, Holland is home to one of the most magnificent flower gardens in the world.

Mozesbrug (Moses Bridge)

Discover Mozesbrug (Moses Bridge) in Halsteren, Netherlands: Invisible bridge parts the waters, invoking biblical images and preserving the ominous feel of an ancient moat.

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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