Year: 2009

Julien Aurouze and Co.

Discover Julien Aurouze and Co. in Paris, France: A Parisian exterminator's shop whose storefront displays stuffed rats hanging from traps.

Oradour

Discover Oradour in Oradour-sur-Glane, France: This French ghost town from World War II has been left as a memorial to German atrocities during World War II.

Le Palais Idéal

Discover Le Palais Idéal in Hauterives, France: This whimsical castle of grottoes was the labor of love of a French postman, and one of the greatest achievements of outsider architecture.

Catacombes de Paris

Discover Catacombes de Paris in Paris, France: The vast, legendary catacombs hold secrets much stranger than stacked bones.

La Sebastiana

Discover La Sebastiana in Valparaiso, Chile: Pivotal home of Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda.

The Nitrate Towns of Chile

Discover The Nitrate Towns of Chile in Tamarugal, Chile: Towns with a resource known as "white gold," valuable enough to fight a war over, now stand ghostly and empty.

Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel

Discover Capela de Ossos Bone Chapel in Faro, Portugal: This small chapel is built of human bones and decorated with a golden skeleton.

Site of operation Backfire

Discover Site of operation Backfire in Cuxhaven, Germany: WWII rocket launchpad in rural Germany and site of operation backfire.

Oberweissbacher Bergbahn

Discover Oberweissbacher Bergbahn in Lichtenhain/Bergbahn, Germany: Oberweissbacher Bergbahn – a broad-gauged cable car capable transfering railcars.

Monte Kaolino

Discover Monte Kaolino in Hirschau, Germany: A man-made slag heap that you can "ski" down, and is home to the world sandboarding championships.

Amöneburg

Discover Amöneburg in Amöneburg, Germany: Amöneburg is a town perched on top of a basalt mountain in the middle of an ancient meteor crater.

Suurhusen Church

Discover Suurhusen Church in Hinte, Germany: The Suurhusen church tower in Germany leans over farther than the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Molli Steam Tram

Discover Molli Steam Tram in Bad Doberan, Germany: A steam powered train that runs on city streets.

The Mummy of Knight Kahlbutz

Discover The Mummy of Knight Kahlbutz in Neustadt, Germany: The natural mummy of the less than chivalrous Knight Kahlbutz.

European Asparagus Museum

Discover European Asparagus Museum in Schrobenhausen, Germany: Behold, a collection dedicated to Germany's favorite vegetable.

Burg Pfalzgrafenstein

Discover Burg Pfalzgrafenstein in Oberwesel, Germany: Tiny castle in the middle of the Rhine made you pay to pass.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 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. 474 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. 499 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. 633 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. 135 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. 167 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). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 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. 96 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. 166

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