Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Chesterfield Snail

Discover Chesterfield Snail in Chesterfield, England: This enormous spiral sculpture looks strangely out of place on the edge of a housing development.

Amsterdam Gable Stones

Discover Amsterdam Gable Stones in Amsterdam, Netherlands: In the days before house numbers, these colorful signs held clues about various buildings' purposes.

The Cerro de la Oliva Trenches

Discover The Cerro de la Oliva Trenches in Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain: Not far from Madrid, a set of perfectly preserved trenches date back to the Spanish Civil War.

Walberla

Discover Walberla in Wiesenthau, Germany: An ancient pagan site swirling with legends in the foothills of Franconian Switzerland.

The Birley Spa Bathhouse

Discover The Birley Spa Bathhouse in South Yorkshire, England: This old Victorian bathhouse is fed by an ancient spring.

Stará Bystrica Astronomical Clock

Discover Stará Bystrica Astronomical Clock in Stará Bystrica, Slovakia: The world's newest astronomical clock is also its most accurate.

Palace of Cortés

Discover Palace of Cortés in Cuernavaca, Mexico: The conquistador's former fortress is the oldest preserved colonial building in the Americas.

Old Diplomat Hotel

Discover Old Diplomat Hotel in Baguio, Philippines: This eerie abandoned building with a dark history is said to be one of the most haunted places in the Philippines.

Tavole dei Briganti

Discover Tavole dei Briganti in Pennapiedimonte, Italy: Inscriptions found in the Majella mountains reveal stories of resistance and rebellion after the unification of Italy.

Burke Ghost Town

Discover Burke Ghost Town in Wallace, Idaho: A mining town, now abandoned, was built in a canyon so narrow that the railroad ran right through the hotel lobby.

Gouville-sur-Mer Beach Huts

Discover Gouville-sur-Mer Beach Huts in Gouville-sur-Mer, France: Rows of multicolored bathing huts paint the sand dunes with pops of color.

Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden

Discover Ethel M Botanical Cactus Garden in Henderson, Nevada: Nevada's largest cactus collection stands outside a candy mogul's small factory.

Old Trinity Church

Discover Old Trinity Church in Woolford, Maryland: The United States' oldest Episcopal church still in active use.

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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

PP ToS