Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Toaster

Discover The Toaster in Aachen, Germany: A distinctive former power plant turned university lecture hall looks like it could make you breakfast.

Burntcoat Head Park

Discover Burntcoat Head Park in Maitland, Nova Scotia: The highest tides in the world come in and out here twice a day, allowing you to essentially walk along the ocean floor.

The ‘Hand with Watch’ Sculpture

Discover The 'Hand with Watch' Sculpture in Berlin, Germany: Known simply as "The Hand," this famous public sculpture in Berlin was featured in a Depeche Mode music video.

La Alpujarra Administrative Center

Discover La Alpujarra Administrative Center in Medellín, Colombia: In the heart of Medellín, an artsy urban complex sets the stage for demonstrations and protests.

54 Columns of Atlanta

The strange assortment of concrete pillars inspires reflection in some, confusion in others.

The Well of the Seven Heads

Discover Well of the Seven Heads in Highland, Scotland: This macabre monument atop an ancient well gives a nod to a brutal episode in Scottish clan history.

Our Lady of the Sea

Discover Our Lady of the Sea in Chauvin, Louisiana: Installed as a beacon of hope for a hurricane-racked island, the statue had to be moved multiple times due to the eroding coast.

Italy’s Beautiful Giant Christmas Tree

Discover Mount Ingino Christmas Tree in Gubbio, Italy: The world's largest "Christmas tree" is illuminated by hundreds of lights stretching 2,000 feet up the slope of Mount Ingino.

Mammoth Cave Wildlife Museum

Discover Mammoth Cave Wildlife Museum in Cave City, Kentucky: Amazing taxidermy dioramas from the 1960s in a cement building meant to look like an ice cave.

Wat Phai Rong Wua

Discover Wat Phai Rong Wua in Tambon Bang Ta Then, Thailand: Parts of this sprawling temple complex are deteriorating, but its founder’s body remains intact.

TWA Terminal at JFK Airport

Discover TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport in Queens, New York: This futuristic airport terminal was abandoned for decades before reopening as a hotel—with a vintage plane of its own parked out back.

Haunted Lane

The residents of this ominous-sounding street in Pennsylvania liked its name so much they fought to keep it.

Museum of Fond Memories at Reed Books

Discover Museum of Fond Memories at Reed Books in Birmingham, Alabama: A unique book shop with a collection of rare tomes and a nostalgia museum.

Wreckage of the S.S. Garden City

Discover Wreckage of the S.S. Garden City in Crockett, California: The remains of a deserted steamboat sit rusting beside an old ferry pier and an abandoned train platform.

Watkins Woolen Mill

Discover Watkins Woolen Mill in Kearney, Missouri: One of America's first planned communities is preserved in a state park.

Ragnhildsholmen Castle Ruin

Discover Ragnhildsholmen Castle Ruin in Gothenburg, Sweden: This castle ruin in the middle of nowhere is a gem for wildlife enthusiasts.

La Puerta Falsa

Discover La Puerta Falsa in Bogotá, Colombia: This tiny shop has been serving traditional tamales for more than 200 years.

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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