When the Manila Metropolitan Theater (abbreviated as MET) was formally opened on December 10, 1931, it was considered the country’s first national theater. In 1973, it was inscribed as a National Historic Landmark. The National Museum of the Philippines declared it a National Cul … | Continue reading
He's known by many names. The "Flying Prince, the "Flying Slav," or to some, simply "Obo." Prince Alexander Sergeevich Obolensky was a Russian aristocrat who famously represented England in international rugby. A naturalized Briton, he was a Rurikid prince and lived in the U.K. a … | Continue reading
One of the lesser-used trails in the United States National Recreation Trails system is named for explorer John C. Frémont, who came through this area in 1843. From its western beginning at Yamsay Mountain, south of Silver Lake, Oregon, the Fremont Trail stretches for some 130 mi … | Continue reading
Urashima Taro is the protagonist of one of the most famous Japanese folk tales. In the story, a fisherman named Taro saves a bullied turtle on the beach and, in return, is invited to a feast held at the "Dragon Palace" under the sea. The denizens of the Atlantean world welcome hi … | Continue reading
Board one of Colorado’s historic steam locomotives, and your expedition will begin with the blast of a train whistle. Now take your seat, and melt into the cushions as the train carries you deep into the wilderness and the vivid scenery unspools past you. Much of Colorado remains … | Continue reading
Austin is known for its food, and for good reason: not only can you find some of the country’s best barbecue and Tex-Mex food, but you can also enjoy boundary-pushing restaurants, quirky dive bars, and everything in between. To help you get to know Austin’s wide-ranging, ever-evo … | Continue reading
Many people come to Austin, Texas for the barbecue, or the beer, or the music—but everyone should stay for the surprising displays of nature the city has to offer. Roughly 15% of the city’s land is dedicated to green space, and Austinintes love taking advantage of the parks, trai … | Continue reading
The basis of this amazing museum was created from the collections of Charly De Pauw and Ghislain Mahy. For 50 years, their collections evolved in Ghent. At one point, they had over a thousand vehicles, including many rare Belgian brands. In 1986, a selection of 230 of their vehic … | Continue reading
If you’re visiting the Live Music Capital of the World®, you’re going to see some live music. In Austin, music is everywhere—from classic jazz clubs to barbecue spots with top-tier live bands, to venues where you might catch the next big act. (Of course, they’ve got their share o … | Continue reading
Standing as a testament to the enduring legacy of Freemasonry, this Masonic hall resides in Cheltenham. Constructed in 1820 by George Allen Underwood, the historic building is one of the oldest lodges in England and serves its original purpose. A display of Regency architecture a … | Continue reading
Sports are a big deal in Croatia. The city of Split has a walkway dedicated to its Olympic medalists, as it claims to have the most winners per capita of any city in the world. The Croatian men's football team is renowned for its 21st-century successes, including second and third … | Continue reading
Originally founded circa 856, Ōarai-Isosaki Shrine is dedicated to the deity Ōnamuchi-no-mikoto, one of the central figures in Japanese mythology, who is said to have once landed on a rock off the coast of Ōarai. Later, the rock was topped with a torii gate, marking the holy grou … | Continue reading
Have you ever felt the urge to dial up the past? Standing along a highway in Prairie Grove, Arkansas, you can do just that. Across from a Civil War Battlefield stands the Prairie Grove Airlight Outdoor Telephone Booth, where what was once a commonplace utility has become a glass … | Continue reading
THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE JUNE 8, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. Cocktail aficionados know that a Long Island Iced Tea contains no tea. It gets its tea-like color from dark liquor and cola (it also might not be from Long … | Continue reading
Antiquarians focused on local works, Hyde Brothers Booksellers has managed to cram over 150,000 rare, unusual, and odd books behind a cozy brick façade nestled on one of Fort Wayne's most creative streets. The staggering Hyde collection, organized by loose genre and piled from fl … | Continue reading
Wonder is everywhere. That’s why, every other week, Atlas Obscura drags you down some of the rabbit holes we encounter as we search for our unusual stories. We highlight surprising finds, great writing, and inspiring stories from some of our favorite publications. Visiting the Kr … | Continue reading
The majestic cathedral in Roskilde, Denmark, is a popular UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrated as the primary burial ground for Danish monarchs since the 15th century. Yet often overlooked by visitors is a more obscure and mysterious final resting place. Deep inside the cathedr … | Continue reading
Is it possible that Ponce de León was just looking in the wrong spot? The explorer famously (and apocryphally) searched Florida for the famed Fountain of Youth, but maybe it was just there the whole time in Lewes, Delaware, in a well-marked location. His loss is your gain, as the … | Continue reading
The Carson River forms at the south end of Carson Valley, near the California-Nevada border, by the confluence of the East and West Carson Rivers, both of which rise in California's Sierra Nevada. It ends at the Carson Sink about 70 miles east-north-east of Carson City, Nevada. T … | Continue reading
Legend. The King of Reggae. The Prophet. And…Delawarean? Yes, Bob Marley, the internationally famous reggae superstar, was also an off-and-on resident of Wilmington, Delaware, for more than a decade, working everyday jobs to earn money, sometimes using an alias. This part of his … | Continue reading
Animals were once a staple of every well-to-do circus show. Though the practice is largely on the way out now, lions, elephants, tigers, and many more exotic animals would be carted around and shown to the masses. Confined to small cages and often forced to perform, it's no surpr … | Continue reading
In a park near Vicenza's train station, this statue of a man on a ship stands out because Vicenza is about 40 miles away from the closest port. The statue depicts Antonio Pigafetta, one of the 18 people who survived Ferdinand Magellan’s circumnavigation of the globe. This memoria … | Continue reading
In 2004, the Dave Matthews Band was on tour and staying in Chicago for a two-night engagement at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. On August 8, they had one show down and one more to go. The bus driver, en route to the hotel to pick up the band's violinist, sto … | Continue reading
Japan is full of local legends and ghost stories, some strange and bordering on the bizarre, and its metropolitan capital is no exception. In the otherwise residential Katsushika Ward lies a small pond called Kenashi-ike, a rare strip of unbridled nature in urban Tokyo. Covered w … | Continue reading
In 1974, during the Soviet occupation of Lithuania, this distinctive building served as a parking facility for the state-owned taxi fleet, primarily catering to the residents of Vilnius. With limited tourism options available during the occupation, the majority of patrons were lo … | Continue reading
On a grassy patch next to a winding farmland road in southern Sweden, lies a row of about 16 peculiar holes resembling deep footprints. Marked with a sign that says: "THE SWEARER'S HOLES. CENTURIES-OLD. SURROUNDED BY LEGEND," they evoke intrigue. Despite the lush greenery that en … | Continue reading
In 2013, a Christian group called "Community Men's Fellowship" were given permission to erect a granite monument of the Ten Commandments, a set of religious and legal rules considered sacred by followers of Judaism and Christianity, in front of the Bradford County Courthouse. In … | Continue reading
In this era of precision measurements, we are so accustomed to knowing the size of things that it's hard to imagine how things worked back in the past. Fortunately, there are still reminders located all over the world. Two unassuming metal bars left of the entrance to the Vienna … | Continue reading
Legend has it that the construction of this immense mosque was commissioned in 1399 by Temur's senior wife, Bibi Khanum, better known as Saray Mulk Khanum, as a surprise while he was away. Able to accommodate a congregation of up to 10,000, it was by far the largest in Central As … | Continue reading
What is the significance of having a mosaic dedicated to various modes of transportation in a supermarket? Santiago Padrós, a Spanish mosaic artist born in 1942, has become known for his intricate and colorful mosaics. Trained in Barcelona, he developed a distinctive style that c … | Continue reading
In front of the Parish Center for the Arts in Westford, Massachusetts, is a multi-piece bronze and stone sculpture called "Waiting for Poe". It memorializes the city's connection to Edgar Allan Poe, the famous poet and horror author. Poe visited Westford multiple times due to his … | Continue reading
The Myeongdong district is one of Seoul’s top tourist destinations, home to luxury brand names, department stores, cosmetic shops and lots of street food, always busy with people and neon lights, constantly developing through the ebb and flow of Korean trends. ”Minor Triumph” (or … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we get a crash course in the fascinating temperature-controlled ecosystem we’ve created to keep our food fresh—and available—all year round. Our gu … | Continue reading
When visiting the Mijas Miniatures Museum, the sheer uniqueness of the exhibits is captivating. Just the sign outside, promising sights such as stuffed dressed fleas, a ballet dancer carved out of a toothpick, a naval battle on the head of a pin, and Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Sup … | Continue reading
In the heart of Forbury Gardens stands a majestic sculpture of a lion. It’s one of the world's largest cast iron statues of a lion, weighing in at a tremendous 16 tons. Built to commemorate soldiers who died in the Battle of Maiwand, the lion represents a fascinating part of Engl … | Continue reading
The Skeleton Key Odditorium is a unique and one-of-a-kind treasure, found in the heart of the arts district in downtown Portland, Oregon. Both a museum and a curiosity shop, the Skeleton Key is filled with carefully sourced and mesmerizing trinkets, and pieces of history long for … | Continue reading
Dedicated to the Belgian Romantic painter, sculptor, lithographer, and writer Antoine Wiertz (1806-1865), this museum houses a collection of his work in what was once his home and studio. Known for his vast, oil-on-canvas paintings that blended romanticism and horror, Wiertz cut … | Continue reading
Amongst all the Miami craziness and next to a condo building and hotel hot spot is a resting spot for the Brickell family, Miami pioneers. Yes, dead bodies used to be here, in that fancy, white, marble monument on the lawn of the Icon Brickell condo, near their valet parking area … | Continue reading
The Roman Empire colonized much of Great Britain and founded many settlements that have become modern British cities. Even today, many Roman archaeological sites can be found across the island. However, very few British locations seem to identify so closely with Roman history as … | Continue reading
Built during the 15th century, this once proud castle stood as a defensive structure and military stronghold in a time of great violence. The castle is located in the village of Besiekiery. The ruins stand alone on a small island surrounded by a moat that now looks more like a ga … | Continue reading
Any building can become a monument if it survives long enough, resulting in some strange cases. This one is not only protected, it is also patented. The Zytglogge is a medieval clock tower and astronomical clock that, besides the bears, is the main attraction in Bern. What most v … | Continue reading
The Centro de Historias de Zaragoza is a modern art museum in the Spanish city of Zaragoza, some 200 miles northeast of Madrid. On the second floor of the building is a separate museum dedicated to the art of origami. It's the first museum in Europe devoted exclusively to origami … | Continue reading
In the Edo period, five springs in Kamakura were selected as its best. Only three of those survive today, however, the most notable of which is the Zeniarai-mizu found at Benzaiten-Ugafuku Shrine. The two others are Nichiren-koimizu, which is purported to have sprung when the gre … | Continue reading
The district of Pangkung Paruk lies on the northern coast of Bali where verdant green jungle meets azure sea. It is off the beaten track, removed from tourist hotspots on the south coast around the city of Denpasar. In 2009, a local rice farmer digging an irrigation trench stumbl … | Continue reading
As everyone from regional commuters to vacationers to Joe Biden knows, most travel through the major cities on the Eastern Seaboard involves a brief sojourn through the tiny state of Delaware. One of the earliest reminders of this journey is hidden nearly in plain sight in a park … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit the South Dakota badlands, where a small pharmacy employed an ingenious marketing gimmick, and boomed into a business that draws millions … | Continue reading
In Tokyo’s vibrant restaurant scene, one can readily find cuisines from countries around the world. At Mesopotamia, customers can sample the cuisine of a people who do not have a modern nation-state of their own; one of the largest ethnic groups in the world without one. After th … | Continue reading
This small red-painted stave church is the most remote of the 28 original stave churches that still exist in Norway. It is located on the disused fishing village of Grip, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, a 12-kilometer boat ride from Kristiansund. Grip Stavkyrkje was built i … | Continue reading