Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Larco Museum’s Erotic Art

Discover Larco Museum's Erotic Art in Cercado de Lima, Peru: The large collection of pre-Columbian pottery might make you blush.

Morris Arboretum

Discover Morris Arboretum in Flourtown, Pennsylvania: This hidden gem of a garden has one of the only surviving Victorian ferneries in America.

Craggy Gardens Rhododendron Tunnels

Discover Craggy Gardens Rhododendron Tunnels in Black Mountain, North Carolina: Gnarled canopies of pink and purple wildflowers arch over the trail to the summit.

Saint Catherine Russian Orthodox Church

Discover Saint Catherine Russian Orthodox Church in Rome, Italy: The first Russian Orthodox church in the Catholic city of Rome in almost a thousand years.

The Last Remnant of the New York Produce Exchange

Discover New York Produce Exchange Property Marker in New York, New York: A well-worn marker in a forgotten alleyway is all that remains of what had been one of Manhattan's most beautiful buildings.

The Gouwe Aqueduct Yacht

Discover Gouwe Aquaduct in Waddinxveen, Netherlands: Yup, that's a 330-foot yacht passing over the highway.

A Fake Building In Paris

Discover 145 Rue Lafayette in Paris, France: What looks like a normal building is really a hollow facade hiding a subway vent.

Folk Art Center

Discover Folk Art Center in Asheville, North Carolina: A wonderful display of arts and crafts handmade by local artisans in the Southern Appalachians.

Santa’s Mailbox

Discover Santa’s Mailbox in Nuuk, Greenland: Thousands of letters to Santa get delivered to this mailbox in Greenland.

The Carousel Capital of the World

Discover Carousel Capital of the World in Johnson City, New York: The Binghamton area is home to six of the last remaining hand-carved vintage carousels.

Battle of the Elms

Discover Battle of the Elms in Stockholm, Sweden: The scars of a remarkably organized public protest to save 13 elm trees are still visible in this Stockholm park.

The Sarnoff Collection

Discover The Sarnoff Collection in Ewing Township, New Jersey: A surprising museum of 20th-century technology.

Menu

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