Year: 2016

Peggy Guggenheim’s Grave

Discover Peggy Guggenheim's Grave in Venice, Italy: The only museum with its curator—and her pets—buried inside.

Glen Jean School

Discover Glen Jean School in Oak Hill, West Virginia: An abandoned 1920s school with a mysterious history.

Chesterfield’s Crooked Spire

Discover Chesterfield's Crooked Spire in Chesterfield, England: The whimsical twist of this spire was either caused by the Devil, an unexpected virgin, or lead.

Koneswaram Temple

Discover Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka: An ancient temple to the Hindu god Shiva surrounded by jaw-dropping scenery.

Saatse Boot

Discover Saatse Boot in Estonia: This peculiar border irregularity is the only way to legally enter Russia without a visa.

Åtvidaberg Sun Cannon

Discover Åtvidaberg Sun Cannon in Åtvidaberg, Sweden: In the town of Åtvidaberg, the midday sun sets off a loud cannon boom.

World Records of Casey, Illinois

Discover World Records of Casey, Illinois in Casey, Illinois: The world's largest collection of the world's largest objects is in one small Illinois town.

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.

Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires

Discover Basilique Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Paris, France: A 400-year-old church covered floor to ceiling in ex-voto offerings from the faithful.

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun

Discover Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, North Korea: A former palace transformed into a mausoleum for North Korea's supreme leaders.

Holy Mountain of Grabarka

Discover Holy Mountain of Grabarka in Grabarka, Poland: Crosses of all shapes, sizes and colors litter the mountain, the site of a huge yearly Orthodox pilgrimage.

Lord Howe Island’s Time

Discover Lord Howe Island's Time in Lord Howe Island, Australia: In a strange timezone anomaly, Daylight Saving Time here sets the clocks forward just 30 minutes.

Kopiec Wandy (Wanda Mound)

Discover Kopiec Wandy (Wanda Mound) in Krakow, Poland: An artificial hill and apparent calendric structure built in the Early Middle Ages immortalizes a legendary Polish princess.

Providence Athenaeum

Discover Providence Athenaeum in Providence, Rhode Island: A 19th century library favored by Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, known by locals as "the Ath.".

Hand Fan Museum

Discover Hand Fan Museum in Healdsburg, California: This collection of hand fans doubles as a history of femininity.

Książ Castle

Discover Książ Castle in Walbrzych, Poland: A fairytale Gothic castle steeped in Nazi treasure conspiracy theories.

The Exorcist Stairs

Discover The Exorcist Stairs in Washington, D.C.: The site of the climactic scene from the classic horror film is now a historic landmark.

Menu

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

PP ToS