Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Oyster Vending Machine

Discover Oyster Vending Machine in Ars-en-Ré, France: For those late-night mollusk cravings.

Paul Revere Lantern

Discover Paul Revere Lantern in Concord, Massachusetts: One of two lighted lanterns hung in the church belfry on the eve of the Revolutionary War to warn that the British were on their way.

Zapa Concrete Factory

Discover Zapa Concrete Holubice in Holubice, Czechia: A concrete plant shaped like four giant soldiers commemorates one of the most decisive battles of the Napoleonic Wars.

Santa Maria dello Spasimo

Discover Santa Maria dello Spasimo in Palermo, Italy: This skeletal, unfinished Gothic church once housed a miraculous masterpiece by Raphael.

Ruins of the Jumiège Abbey

Discover Ruins of the Jumiège Abbey in Jumièges, France: Sacked by Vikings, blessed by William the Conqueror, dealt a fatal blow during the French Revolution—these ruins have seen it all.

Evel Knievel Museum

Discover Evel Knievel Museum in Topeka, Kansas: See the motorcycles that launched the stuntman to fame and the gear that saved his life.

Madman’s Window

Discover Madman's Window in Larne, Northern Ireland: It is said a heartbroken man visited the gap every day to stare blankly out at the sea.

Lava Cast Forest

Discover Lava Cast Forest in La Pine, Oregon: A rugged lava field dotted with molds of the ancient pines that were growing when the volcano erupted.

Museum of the Mountain West

Discover Museum of the Mountain West in Montrose, Colorado: An eclectic collection of artifacts from the Wild West is preserved in a remote fictional pioneer town.

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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