Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The Edinburgh Maiden

Discover The Edinburgh Maiden in Edinburgh, Scotland: This early version of the guillotine was used to execute the man responsible for its construction.

Langue de Barbarie

Discover Langue de Barbarie in Ndieulé Mbam, Senegal: A tree seems to grow from the ocean floor on this strange strip of sand slowly being overtaken by the sea.

Gravity Hill in Wisconsin

Discover Gravity Hill in Wisconsin in Shullsburg, Wisconsin: A remote hill on a stretch of country road where the laws of physics are defied… or so it seems.

Philbrook Museum of Art

Discover Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma: The collection is housed in an exquisite mansion that makes you feel like you've been transported to an Italian villa.

Cârța Monastery

Discover Cârța Monastery in Cârța, Romania: Climbing to the top of the cathedral's bell tower offers sweeping views of these medieval ruins.

St. Hallvard’s Inverted Dome

Discover St. Hallvard's Church and Monastery in Oslo, Norway: The Brutalist building harbors an unusual inverted dome that swoops down over its central sacred room.

Enrique Molina Theater

Discover Enrique Molina Theater in Concepción, Chile: The ruins of a grand theater destroyed during the most powerful seismic catastrophe ever recorded.

Leawood Pump House

Discover Leawood Pump House in Whatstandwell, England: Its impressive still-working beam engine is a thing of beauty for engineering history fans.

Braden Castle Ruins

Discover Braden Castle Ruins in Bradenton, Florida: These crumbling foundations are all that remain of the once-stately 1840s manor that gave the town of Bradenton its name.

Roman Theatre of Cartagena

Discover Roman Theatre of Cartagena in Cartagena, Spain: An ancient Roman theatre restored to its former glory in the Spanish city of Cartegena.

Civil War Nurses Memorial

Discover Civil War Nurses Memorial in Washington, D.C.: A bas relief commemorates the "Nuns of the Battlefield" who cared for soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

Museum of Whimsy

Discover Museum of Whimsy in Astoria, Oregon: A delightfully quirky blend of oddities spread throughout an old 1920s bank.

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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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