Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Amsterdam Ordnance Datum

Discover Amsterdam Ordnance Datum in Amsterdam, Netherlands: This large copper bolt represents the benchmark for measuring sea levels in most of Europe.

The Stone of Shame

Discover Pietra del Vituperio (Stone of Shame) in Padua, Italy: In medieval times this small stone seat was used as a bizarre way to punish insolvent debtors.

Krabi Traffic Lights

Discover Krabi Traffic Lights in Tambon Pak Nam, Thailand: Cavemen, elephants, and eagles greet passengers driving through the town's main intersection.

OnDo Giant Noodle Sculpture

Discover OnDo Giant Noodle Sculpture in Auckland, New Zealand: In an Auckland neighborhood, looming chopsticks lift noodles from the sidewalk.

Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania

Discover Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania in Tipaza, Algeria: The original resting place of Queen Cleopatra and Mark Antony's only daughter.

National Trout Memorial

Discover National Trout Memorial in Kalkaska, Michigan: This tremendous trout welcomes visitors to a northern Michigan town with a rich fishing history.

Ješt?d Tower

Discover Ješt?d Tower in Liberec, Czechia: This unusually shaped mountaintop tower looks like a UFO floating over the city.

Colditz Castle

Discover Colditz Castle in Colditz, Germany: An officers prison camp believed to be impregnable by the Germans saw over 30 successful escapes.

Tayq Sinkhole

Discover Tayq Sinkhole in Tayq, Oman: A powerful cyclone once made one of the world's largest sinkholes completely fill with water.

Museum of Medieval Stockholm

Discover Museum of Medieval Stockholm in Stockholm, Sweden: The discovery of an old wall led to the creation of this fascinating museum about the city in the Middle Ages.

Montecassino Abbey

Discover Montecassino Abbey in Cassino, Italy: This breathtaking monastery was established by Saint Benedict himself 1,500 years ago.

Arcadia Round Barn

Discover Arcadia Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma: This unusually circular centenarian barn became a Route 66 icon.

The Mysterious Mojave Megaphone

Discover Mojave Megaphone in Baker, California: No one's quite sure why there's a metal megaphone bolted on two rocks in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

Maison Carrée Reconstructed Inscription

Discover Maison Carrée Reconstructed Inscription in Nîmes, France: The lost Latin words were reconstructed using the holes from the nails that once pinned them in place.

The ‘Gants’ of Braintree

Discover The 'Gants' of Braintree in Essex, England: You won't find these curiously named passageways anywhere else in England.

Misfat al Abriyyin

Discover Misfat al Abriyyin in Misfat al Abriyyin, Oman: Traditional architecture and ancient irrigation systems are on display in this gorgeous mountain village.

Cattolica di Stilo

Discover Cattolica di Stilo in Stilo, Italy: A small Byzantine church lost in the middle of the mountains of southern Italy.

Museum Jagdschloss Kranichstein

Discover Museum Jagdschloss Kranichstein in Darmstadt, Germany: This baroque palace displays an impressive collection of taxidermy, art, and rare objects from the days of courtly hunting.

KISS by Monster Mini Golf

Discover KISS by Monster Mini Golf in Las Vegas, Nevada: A blacklight mini-golf fever dream pays tribute to the iconic rock band.

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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