Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Bridge of Glass

Discover Bridge of Glass in Tacoma, Washington: A beautiful footbridge with over 2,000 glass sculptures along the walls and ceiling.

Kurt Cobain’s Benches

Discover Kurt Cobain's Benches in Seattle, Washington: A sliver of nostalgia in Seattle's Viretta Park.

Cats of Longwood Gardens

Discover Cats of Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania: These lush botanical gardens employ the most purrfect pest control force.

Old Man of Hoy

Discover Old Man of Hoy in Orkney, Scotland: A red sandstone freestanding monolith rises out of the sea in northern Scotland.

Capbreton Blockhouses

Discover Capbreton Blockhouses in Capbreton, France: Abandoned blockhouses from Nazi Germany's Atlantic Wall erode into the sea on a French beach.

Fortune’s Smokehouse

Discover Fortune's Smokehouse in Whitby, England: This tiny traditional smokehouse is the only one left in this historic fishing port.

The Nykur of Sørvágsvatn

Discover The Nykur of Sørvágsvatn in Faroe Islands: In Faroese legend, this sinister horse-shaped beast lures unsuspecting passersby only to drown them in the lake.

The Lost Caves

Discover The Lost Caves in Nottingham, England: Hidden in a grotto 26 feet below Nottingham's oldest hotel, this stylish subterranean drinking den is notoriously hard to find.

Fuente de las Nereidas

Discover Fuente de las Nereidas in Buenos Aires, Argentina: This beautiful fountain was sculpted by a female artist who was ahead of her time.

Birthplace of the Web

Discover Birthplace of the Web in Meyrin, Switzerland: The World Wide Web was created in this nondescript corridor at CERN.

Château Laurier

Discover Château Laurier in Ottawa, Ontario: The mastermind behind this palatial hotel perished on the Titanic weeks before its grand opening.

The Central Shop

Discover The Central Shop in Wicklow, Ireland: Not actually a shop, but one fan's passionate show of support for a rival county's Gaelic football team.

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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