Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum

Discover Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum in Gibsonville, North Carolina: A museum dedicated to an incredible woman who founded a pioneering school for rural Black students.

President’s Room

Discover President's Room in Jerusalem, Israel: On holy holidays, Israel's second president used this room atop Mount Zion as a refuge to read the Torah.

Treaty of Paris Plaque

Discover Treaty of Paris Plaque in Paris, France: A simple plaque on the facade is the only reminder that the treaty ending the American Revolution was signed inside.

Siida Museum

Discover Siida Museum in Inari, Finland: A beautiful Arctic museum and nature center preserves the culture of the Sámi people.

Ludbreg’s ‘Center of the World’

Discover Ludbreg's 'Center of the World' in Ludbreg, Croatia: Colorful concentric circles honor a small Croatian town's supposed spot at the nucleus of it all.

Whale Bone of Arco della Costa

Discover Whale Bone of Arco della Costa in Verona, Italy: A whale rib has been mysteriously suspended from the arch since at least the 1700s, and no one knows how it got there.

Teak Ceiling at Bamburgh Castle

Discover Teak Ceiling at Bamburgh Castle in Bamburgh, England: The medieval-looking hammer beam teak roof may be a Victorian vanity, but it's still absolutely magnificent.

Abandoned Dome House

Discover Abandoned Dome House in Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Rotting dome home spotted near Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Adam’s Calendar

Discover Adam's Calendar in Ehlanzeni, South Africa: Hidden in the hills is a mysterious stone structure, known only to a few.

The Sisyphus Stones

Discover The Sisyphus Stones in New York, New York: Hordes of precariously balanced stone figures crowd the shores of the Hudson River.

Brown Hart Gardens

Discover Brown Hart Gardens in London, England: It is still illegal to "quarrel" at this unlikely urban oasis built on top of an electrical substation.

La Paz’s Cementerio General

Discover Cementerio General in La Paz, Bolivia: In La Paz's huge, city-sized cemetery, the deceased are stored in rows of apartment-like buildings.

‘Stand By Me’ Tree

Discover 'Stand By Me' Tree in Berlin, Germany: Someone loved this song enough to carve all of its lyrics onto a tree trunk in a Berlin park.

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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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