Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Chester Town Hall Clock Tower

Discover Chester Town Hall Clock Tower in Chester, England: The western face was supposedly left clock-less to snub the Welsh.

The Dance Linden

Discover The Dance Linden in Kasendorf, Germany: For centuries, Germans have been dancing in trees.

Masonic Symbols of Paraty

Discover Masonic Symbols of Paraty in Paraty, Brazil: This Brazilian town built by Freemasons is full of colonial Masonic architecture and symbolic imagery.

The Cat Museum in Belarus

Discover Cat Museum in Minsk, Belarus: This Minsk museum has cat coffee, cat chess, cat art, and even a cat "staff," which visitors are free to take home.

Sanctuary Wood Museum

Discover Sanctuary Wood Museum in Ypres, Belgium: A rare example of World War I trenches from the British front.

Grave of the Unknown Woman

Discover Grave of the Unknown Woman in Rahway, New Jersey: The final resting place of a famous 19th-century murder victim whose identity is still a mystery.

Remington Hot Springs

Discover Remington Hot Springs in Bodfish, California: One of the last free public hot springs is decorated with hippie art.

Fortress of Suomenlinna

Discover Fortress of Suomenlinna in Helsinki, Finland: This irregularly shaped sea fortress has defended not one but three different sovereign states.

The Mushroom Building

Discover The Mushroom Building in Dassel, Minnesota: The fungus-shaped vintage gas station has served multiple purposes over its lifetime, and now serves ice cream.

Pin Point Heritage Museum

Discover Pin Point Heritage Museum in Savannah, Georgia: A unique museum dedicated to the Gullah-Geechee people, housed within an old oyster cannery.

Moss Lady

Discover Moss Lady in Victoria, British Columbia: Greenery cloaks this serene sculpture inspired by the famous Lost Gardens of Heligan.

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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