Archives: Atlas Obscuras

The (First) Washington Monument

Discover The (First) Washington Monument in Middletown, Maryland: Built by the patriotic residents of Boonsboro in a single day.

Slabsides

Discover Slabsides in Highland, New York: The rustic think-space of famed naturalist John Burroughs stands exactly as he left it.

The World’s Largest Cashew Tree

Discover World's Largest Cashew Tree in Parnamirim, Brazil: You feel like you're in a forest, but you're actually walking amidst the branches and trunks of a single giant tree.

The Welling Court Mural Project

Discover The Welling Court Mural Project in Queens, New York: A collaborative art project that transformed a neighborhood in NYC's Queens.

Topaz Museum

Discover Topaz Museum in Delta, Utah: A museum in rural Utah documents the history of the Japanese Americans who were forcibly relocated there.

Marionette Fob Watch

Discover Marionette Fob Watch in Melbourne, Australia: Every hour a secret compartment drops from this giant pocket watch, revealing a lovely surprise.

Old Jewish Cemetery

Discover Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague, Czechia: Around 100,000 bodies are buried below the medieval headstones, many of which mark graves with multiple bodies stacked up to 12 deep.

Bridge to Nowhere

Discover Bridge to Nowhere in Irlavas pagasts, Latvia: A railway bridge leading nowhere stands lonely in the middle of a meadow.

Larne Standing Stone

Discover Larne Standing Stone in Larne, Northern Ireland: The enigmatic stone has towered over a Northern Ireland town for thousands of years.

Little Istanbul

Discover Little Istanbul in Sala, Sweden: One man's fascination with Turkey led to this backyard mini-city.

1904 World’s Fair Flight Cage

Discover 1904 World's Fair Flight Cage in St. Louis, Missouri: What was meant to be a temporary exhibit is now a permanent fixture at the St. Louis Zoo filled with beautiful birds.

Knife Angel

Discover Knife Angel in Morda, England: The sculpture is made of more than 100,000 knives collected to raise awareness about violence.

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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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