Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Sambodhi Chaithya

Discover Sambodhi Chaithya in Colombo, Sri Lanka: This space rocket-like Buddhist stupa sits atop two giant arches and can be seen from out at sea.

Swedish Phone Booth

Discover Swedish Phone Booth in Lindsborg, Kansas: A unique blue and yellow phone booth in America's "Little Sweden.".

Bradford House II

Discover Bradford House II in Littleton, Colorado: A prehistoric rock shelter that's literally in someone's backyard.

Rauher Kulm

Discover Rauher Kulm in Neustadt am Kulm, Germany: A tiny basalt mountain with an observation tower overlooking the beautiful Bavarian countryside.

Glenn Miller Memorial at King’s Cliffe

Discover Glenn Miller Memorial at King's Cliffe in Northamptonshire, England: This World War II airfield is the last place the bandleader performed before he disappeared.

Argentine Military Cemetery

Discover Argentine Military Cemetery in Falkland Islands: A hilltop collection of crosses remembering the hundreds of Argentine troops who fell during the Falklands War.

The Towers of Sighișoara

Discover Towers of Sighișoara in Sighișoara, Romania: Nine centuries-old fortresses guard the walls of this medieval Romanian city.

Jewish Pioneers Memorial

Discover Jewish Pioneers Memorial in Tombstone, Arizona: The Jewish section of the famous Boothill Graveyard was abandoned for nearly 100 years.

Site of a Japanese Balloon Bomb Explosion

Discover Site of a Japanese Balloon Bomb Explosion in Omaha, Nebraska: These experimental weapons brought World War II to Nebraska as well as 26 other U.S. states.

La Maison Sculptée

Discover La Maison Sculptée in Amanlis, France: An enchanting work of outsider art, full of whimsical sculptures and carvings.

Gjáin

Discover Gjáin in Iceland: Surrounded by ash fields in Iceland, an impossibly verdant valley looks like something out of a fairytale.

Bridgewater Monument

Discover Bridgewater Monument in Aldbury, England: You can climb to the top of the column built to honor the "father of British inland navigation.".

Gallop to Glory

Discover Gallop to Glory in Louisville, Kentucky: This hidden jockey “walk of fame” celebrates the winning riders of the Kentucky Derby.

The Socialist Scouts of Yugoslavia

Discover Little Pioneers Youth Camp in North Macedonia: An abandoned resort in North Macedonia is a relic from the Communist Party of Yugoslavia.

The Texas State Cemetery

Discover The Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas: A high-octane shrine to the greatest Texans who ever lived.

Grasshopper Chapel

Discover Grasshopper Chapel in Cold Spring, Minnesota: After four years of grasshopper plagues, this chapel was erected as a plea to God to make them end.

Garden of Unborn Children

Discover Garden of Unborn Children in Tokyo, Japan: Rows of stone statues are dressed up to mourn children that are lost before birth.

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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