Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Tchai-Ovna House of Tea

Discover Tchai-Ovna House of Tea in Glasgow, Scotland: Hidden on a cobblestone street in Glasgow, a Czech Cajovna-inspired teahouse serves as a hangout for Bohemians.

Grmeč Monument to the Revolution

Discover Grmeč Monument to the Revolution in Unsko-sanski kanton, Bosnia and Herzegovina: An abandoned brutalist monument whose history has been lost to the ages.

Tomb of Nie Er

Discover Tomb of Nie Er in Kunming, China: The memorial gravesite of the young composer of China's national anthem.

Pirámide de Vandama

Discover Pirámide de Vandama in La Palma, Spain: A pre-Hispanic pyramid in the middle of a tourist district in the Canary Islands.

Ben Abeba

Discover Ben Abeba in Lalibela, Ethiopia: An otherworldly restaurant perched on the edge of a jagged cliff next to a medieval holy city.

Cheesewright Studios

Discover Cheesewright Studios in Pasadena, California: This 1920s masterpiece of French Quarter architecture hides a secret tunnel used by Albert Einstein.

Branch Boy Sculptures

Discover Branch Boy Sculptures in Kuopio, Finland: A stick-sprouting statue watching a duo of disembodied dancing deities.

Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)

Discover Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Berriedale, Australia: This controversial museum includes such detested exhibits as a chocolate suicide bomber and fecal-smelling digestion machine.

Monserrate Sanctuary

Discover Monserrate Sanctuary in Bogotá, Colombia: Pilgrims each carried a brick to the top of Mount Monserrate to help build this historic sanctuary in Colombia.

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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