Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Grand Lodge of Ireland

One of the oldest Masonic grand lodges in the world, it's full of fantastical, elaborately themed rooms.

Zwaanendael Museum

Discover Zwaanendael Museum in Lewes, Delaware: A grotesque Fiji merman dwells within this traditional Dutch-style building.

Brown Bear Watching Hide

Discover Brown Bear Watching Hide in Palasi, Estonia: Two well-hidden huts let animal lovers spend the night among the bears, wolves, and other predators of the forest.

The Hat Works

Discover The Hat Works in Stockport, England: Great Britain's only hat-making museum.

Demolition World

Discover Demolition World in Invercargill, New Zealand: An eerily charming collection of salvaged buildings and curios grown out of a family scrap business.

Long Beach’s Oil Islands

Discover Astronaut Islands in Long Beach, California: These four islands right offshore have waterfalls, colorful lights, fancy buildings, and a secret purpose.

The Clown Egg Register

Discover Clown Egg Register in London, England: An archive of ceramic eggs painted to record clowns' personal makeup designs.

The ‘Dew Men’ of Frangokastello Castle

Discover Frangokastello Castle in Frangokastello, Greece: Every spring, locals see the shadowy figures of a ghost army of slain Greek soldiers descend upon this ruined fort.

Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs

Discover Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs in Venice, Italy: This Roman statue is missing a limb from when the Venetians stole it from Constantinople during the Crusades.

Abernethy Round Tower

Discover Abernethy Round Tower in Abernethy, Scotland: One of two Irish-style round towers in Scotland, this structure has mysterious origins.

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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