Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Berlin Wall Urinal

Discover Berlin Wall Urinal in Las Vegas, Nevada: A piece of the iconic wall found an unlikely new home in a Vegas bathroom.

Winterthur

Discover Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware: A blend of art, antiquities, and Americana fill this museum, surrounded by whimsical, enchanting gardens.

The Tinkers’ Heart

Discover The Tinkers' Heart in Argyll and Bute, Scotland: A rare permanent monument to the Scottish Travellers.

Palazzo Berri-Meregalli

Discover Palazzo Berri-Meregalli in Milan, Italy: This curious building hides eclectic details like medieval gargoyles alongside naked angels and Art Nouveau mosaics.

Bukit Brown Cemetery

Discover Bukit Brown Cemetery in Singapore: One of the largest Chinese cemeteries outside of China spent years overgrown and forgotten.

Crail Airfield

Discover Crail Airfield in Crail, Scotland: Soviet intelligence had a keen interest in the Cold War linguistic school at this old Scottish airfield.

Riggs Bank

Discover Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C.: The bank that helped fund the Mexican-American War and the purchase of Alaska met its downfall after helping Augusto Pinochet launder money.

Torre d’en Galmes

Discover Torre d'en Galmes in Alaior, Spain: This remarkable prehistoric town is full of watchtowers and houses that have withstood thousands of years.

Western Folklife Center

Discover Western Folklife Center in Elko, Nevada: This arts and culture cultural center explores the diverse cultural heritage of the American West.

Alice Coltrane’s Ashram

The widow of John Coltrane turned to Eastern philosophy and religion after the death of her husband and fellow jazz musician.

The ‘Great Carrier Reef’

Discover USS Oriskany in Pensacola, Florida: The 44,000-ton aircraft carrier was purposely sunk to create an artificial reef teeming with life.

Baltimore Beacon

Discover Baltimore Beacon in Cork, Ireland: An oddly conical beacon perched atop beautiful Irish cliffs.

Elvis Karate Fight Plaque

Discover Elvis Karate Fight Plaque in Madison, Wisconsin: A stone marker memorializes the spot where the King broke up a street fight with a classic karate stance.

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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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