Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Wat Umong

Discover Wat Umong in Chiang Mai, Thailand: Buddha shrines hide within dark tunnels at this unique forest temple.

Silver Creek and Stephenson Railroad

Discover Silver Creek and Stephenson Railroad in Freeport, Illinois: The only place in America where anyone who wants can shovel coal aboard an antique train.

Site of Sportsman’s Park

Discover Site of Sportsman's Park in St. Louis, Missouri: This spot in St. Louis, marked with a simple sign, has seen more pro baseball than just about anywhere else in the world.

Cave of the Blanik Knights

Discover Cave of the Blanik Knights in Kunštát, Czechia: An army of sleeping knights sculpted by a self-taught local artist beautifully depict an old Czech legend.

Longwood

Discover Longwood in Natchez, Mississippi: A grandiose octagonal home crowned by a large dome stands out among the antebellum mansions.

Cinkota Old Cemetery

Discover Cinkota Old Cemetery in Budapest, Hungary: A forgotten graveyard lost in the tangles of an overgrown garden.

The Egyptian Theatre

Discover The Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, Illinois: This architectural stunner is one of the few surviving Egyptian Revival theaters in the U.S.

Soviet Engels Statue

Discover Soviet Engels Statue in Manchester, England: Manchester salvaged this sculpture of the adopted Mancunian when it was no longer wanted in Ukraine.

Devil’s Island

Discover Devil's Island in French Guiana: An abandoned colonial French prison notorious for its hellish conditions.

Napoleon’s Angels

Discover Napoleon's Angels in Paris, France: Twelve grave-faced marble angels guard the emperor's tomb at Les Invalides.

The Cake Room at Pastelería Ideal

Discover The Cake Room at Pastelería Ideal in Mexico City, Mexico: Where layer cakes tower above one’s head and there is never a shortage of icing.

Peter the Great Statue

Discover Peter the Great Statue in Moscow, Russia: One of the world's tallest statues is also one of its most hated.

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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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