Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Fairytale Graveyard

Discover Fairytale Graveyard in Seyé Municipality, Mexico: A field of whimsical floats, where all of your favorite childhood stories have been put out to pasture.

Nobel Ice Cream

This legendary dessert was served to Nobel laureates for decades.

Prato della Valle

Discover Prato della Valle in Padua, Italy: One of the largest squares in Europe contains an entire artificial island.

Church of Santa Margherita

Discover Church of Santa Margherita in Venice, Italy: This deconsecrated church has seen many uses, from a tobacco storehouse to a cinema.

Palais de l’Île

Discover Palais de l’Île in Annecy, France: Fortified palace in the shape of a ship on the Thiou River.

Isle of May Beacon

Discover Isle of May Beacon in Isle of May, Scotland: This short white tower is all that's left of Scotland's first permanently manned lighthouse.

Old Time Amusements

Discover Old Time Amusements in Brighton, England: A vintage penny arcade hidden in the back of a fun fair-themed bar.

Vallombrosa Abbey

Discover Vallombrosa Abbey in Vallombrosa, Italy: A 14th-century abbey founded by a forest-loving order of monks now sits in the center of a pristine nature preserve.

Great Auk Sculpture at Fogo Island

Discover Great Auk Sculpture at Fogo Island in Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador: A memorial to a giant seabird that was hunted to extinction.

Johanneshovs Skans (Johanneshov Sconce)

Discover Johanneshovs Skans (Johanneshov Sconce) in Stockholm, Sweden: Part of an abandoned19th-century fortress hides in plain sight inside a modern office building.

Belhaven Bridge

Discover Belhaven Bridge in Dunbar, Scotland: At high tide this strange footbridge appears to have no purpose whatsoever.

‘Alien’ Gargoyle

Discover 'Alien' Gargoyle in Paisley, Scotland: A familiar otherworldly creature guards this 12th-century Scottish abbey.

Rijnlandse Roede (The Rhenish Rod)

Discover Rijnlandse Roede (The Rhenish Rod) in Leiden, Netherlands: An unassuming rod in the Netherlands was once the old standard unit of length for the entire Dutch empire.

Punta Borinquen Lighthouse Ruins

Discover Punta Borinquen Lighthouse Ruins in Aguadilla Pueblo, Puerto Rico: Years of neglect and nature took a toll on this 19th-century lighthouse.

Trani Cathedral

Discover Trani Cathedral in Trani, Italy: Three underground crypts and a pointed arch under the bell tower make this cathedral unique among Romanesque churches.

The Pitstone Windmill

Discover The Pitstone Windmill in Ivinghoe, England: This windmill is believed to be the oldest in the British Isles.

Dualidad Mural

Discover Dualidad Mural in Mexico City, Mexico: This immense scene of a cosmic battle between a jaguar and serpent illustrates the Aztec concept of the duality of life.

Kyiv Institute of Information

Discover Kyiv Institute of Information in Kyiv, Ukraine: This exquisite, alienesque piece of Soviet architecture is being threatened by modern shopping malls.

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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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