Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Storelgen (The Big Moose)

Discover Storelgen (The Big Moose) in Stor-Elvdal, Norway: The world's largest moose statue towers above the highway between Oslo and Trondheim.

Holy Church of the Archangels

Discover Holy Church of the Archangels in Athens, Greece: This small chapel holds the mummified heart of one of the heroes of the Greek Revolution.

Pollywogg Hollër

Discover Pollywogg Hollër in Belmont, New York: An off the grid woodland retreat that harkens back to days long forgotten.

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

Discover West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine: This candy-striped tower is the farthest east you can go in the United States.

Germantown Covered Bridge

Discover Germantown Covered Bridge in Germantown, Ohio: This bridge uses an inverted bowstring truss and is believed to be the only of its kind in the United States.

Isle of Tears

Discover Isle of Tears in Minsk, Belarus: A beautiful and moving memorial set on a little island in the middle of the river in Minsk.

Bent’s Old Fort

Discover Bent's Old Fort in La Junta, Colorado: Once a lonely sentinel on the edge of the Great Plains, this rebuilt trading fort offers a glimpse of life on the Santa Fe Trail.

Tivoli’s Astounding Magic Supply

Discover Tivoli's Astounding Magic Supply in Washington, D.C.: The district's only illusionarium supports free writing programs for local students with every purchase.

The Red Baron’s Grave

Discover The Red Baron's Grave in Wiesbaden, Germany: The final resting place of the famed German pilot, the "Red Baron.".

Hundertwasser Drinking Fountain

Discover Hundertwasser Drinking Fountain in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel: One of only three fountains created by the iconic architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum

Discover Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Portugal: One man's remarkable private collection of art from around the world.

The Lorenbahn

Discover The Lorenbahn in Nordstrand, Germany: A tiny island is connected to the mainland by a private railway that residents travel in their own personal wagons.

Van der Wall Telescope

Discover Van der Wall Telescope in Leiden, Netherlands: Once the world's biggest telescope, it was later used as a coat hanger by a famous Dutch astronomer.

Arcadia Round Barn

Discover Arcadia Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma: This unusually circular centenarian barn became a Route 66 icon.

Hardknott Roman Fort

Discover Hardknott Roman Fort in Cumbria, England: One of the highest Roman forts in Britain is set amid dramatic scenery on a notoriously difficult road.

Woolsey Memorial Airport

Discover Woolsey Memorial Airport in Northport, Michigan: A lonely stone-sided terminal stands next to a grass airstrip on Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula.

Big Lonely Doug

Discover Big Lonely Doug in Port Renfrew, British Columbia: Saved by a logger, this Douglas fir is one of the last great old-growth trees in Canada.

The Hurlers

Discover The Hurlers in Minions, England: Cornish legend says these ancient circles were people turned to stone for playing hurling on a Sunday.

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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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