Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Glendale Steps

Discover The Glendale Steps in Akron, Ohio: An elegant sandstone stairway built by the WPA still connects two neighborhoods in Akron.

Basilica of St. John

Discover Basilica of St. John in Selçuk, Turkey: This crumbling medieval basilica once attracted pilgrims by the thousands to collect a miraculous dust that formed above the saint's tomb.

FC Barcelona Coat of Arms

Discover FC Barcelona Coat of Arms in Barcelona, Spain: Barça football fans might see the insignia hidden in a church window as a divine sign.

Kaibab Lookout Trees

Discover Kaibab Lookout Trees in Grand Canyon Village, Arizona: The remnants of a creative early method of wildfire prevention.

Statue of Panfilov’s 28 Guardsmen

Discover Statue of Panfilov's 28 Guardsmen in Almaty, Kazakhstan: This Soviet statue is based on a piece of propaganda that's been elevated to national myth.

Beltane Fire Festival

Discover Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland: Summer in Scotland begins with a spectacularly wild and colorful event rooted in ancient pagan traditions.

The Mermaid of Užupis

Discover The Mermaid of Užupis in Vilnius, Lithuania: Travelers who fall victim to this mermaid's charms are destined to stay in Užupis forever.

Kulturama

Discover Kulturama in Zurich, Switzerland: Zurich's evolution museum hosts a unique collection of skeletons among its natural history treasures.

Female Pedestrian Lights

Discover Female Pedestrian Lights in Vilnius, Lithuania: These traffic lights celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the women's suffrage movement in Lithuania.

Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel

Discover Pen-y-Gwryd Hotel in Gwynedd, Wales: This Welsh hotel is the spiritual home of the British 1953 Everest expedition, the first successful ascent of Mount Everest.

Fort Kyk-Over-Al

Discover Fort Kyk-Over-Al in Guyana: A brick arch is all that remains of this Dutch fort, once a focal point for colonial power struggles in Guyana.

Wovoka Wilderness

Discover Wovoka Wilderness in Yerington, Nevada: Thousands of acres of beautiful wild landscape in the Great Basin.

Patent Pending

Nikola Tesla's former home contains an homage hidden from plain sight.

Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum

Discover Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum in Vicksburg, Mississippi: A museum in Mississippi celebrates the history of Coca-Cola and the man who brought it to the masses.

Byblos Archaeological Site

Discover Byblos Archaeological Site in Jbeil, Lebanon: A patchwork of ruins from various civilizations in one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities.

Museum of Childhood

Discover Museum of Childhood in Edinburgh, Scotland: The world’s first museum dedicated to the history of childhood opened in Edinburgh in 1955.

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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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