Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Gotokuji Temple

Discover Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo, Japan: The legendary birthplace of the Japanese maneki-neko is dotted with hundreds of lucky beckoning cats.

The Nook Basement

Discover The Nook Basement in Saint Paul, Minnesota: The basement bowling alley of this St. Paul dive bar is decorated with thousands of dollar bills.

World’s Largest Puffin Colony

Discover World's Largest Puffin Colony in Heimaey, Iceland: Every summer local children form "pysja patrols" to save young birds that have wandered from their nests.

Corfu British Cemetery

Discover Corfu British Cemetery in Kerkira, Greece: The Greek island's old British cemetery feels like a forgotten garden.

Fort Washington

Discover Fort Washington in Fort Washington, Maryland: This fort down the Potomac from Washington, D.C. was once the only defensive fort protecting the capital.

The Great Auk Sculpture

Discover The Great Auk Sculpture in Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador: A memorial to a giant seabird that was hunted to extinction.

The Lesser-Known Mont Saint-Michel

Discover Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts in Saint-Rivoal, France: An isolated 17th-century chapel on a remarkable site once dedicated to Celtic sun worship.

London Transport Museum Depot

Discover London Transport Museum Depot in London, England: The majority of the museum's large collection is held in a storage space open to the public a few times a year.

House With Animals

Discover House With Animals in Moscow, Russia: Its front wall is striped with a menagerie of fantastic beasts and magnificent monsters.

Parish Church of Santa Maria del Popolo

Discover Parish Church of Santa Maria del Popolo in Rome, Italy: A treasure trove of Renaissance-era funerary art in a Roman church built on top of Nero's grave.

La Casa Mínima

Discover La Casa Mínima in Buenos Aires, Argentina: The narrowest house in Buenos Aires is less than 10 feet wide.

National Museum of the American Coverlet

Discover National Museum of the American Coverlet in Bedford, Pennsylvania: Overshadowed by quilts, the artistry of these patterned textiles went underappreciated for too long.

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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

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