Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Vilnil Museum of Illusions

Discover Vilnil Museum of Illusions in Vilnius, Lithuania: Things aren't quite what they seem at this mind-bending museum.

Villa Baviera

Discover Villa Baviera in Villa Baviera, Chile: Formerly a brutal Nazi colony, this Chilean village was remade as a (controversial) German-themed tourist trap.

Jebel Barkal

Discover Jebel Barkal in Marawi, Sudan: Crumbling pyramids and temple ruins stand within the shadow of this sacred butte.

Muriwai Gannet Colony

Discover Muriwai Gannet Colony in Muriwai, New Zealand: New Zealand's west coast is one of the best places in the world to view these large seabirds.

Neversink Pit

Discover Neversink Pit in Fackler, Alabama: This natural wonder drops 16 stories straight down through rare flora and streaming waterfalls.

Peter Strauss Ranch

Discover Peter Strauss Ranch in Agoura Hills, California: A strange mishmash of ruins and abandoned structures hint at the park's many lives.

Marshmallow Peep Show

Discover Peep Show at Carroll Arts Council in Westminster, Maryland: Easter in Westminster may be the only time and place to behold Edgar Allen Poe made entirely of Marshmallow Peeps.

Nemours Estate

Discover Nemours Estate in Wilmington, Delaware: This splendid Versailles-inspired mansion has the largest French-style formal gardens in North America.

The Dr. Seussophone

Discover The Dr. Seussophone in Rochester, New York: A Seussian sculpture made of brass instruments.

Vanadu Art House

Discover Vanadu Art House in Hyattsville, Maryland: An intricately designed junk art house with four extravagant junk art cars hidden in the suburbs.

Novelty Automation

Discover Novelty Automation in London, England: A tongue-in-cheek arcade where the games are based on everyday life.

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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