Any tourist visiting the Greek capital is bound to see its prestigious World Heritage site, the Acropolis of Athens, sooner or later. It's the most recognizable landmark visible from any corner of the city. Athens's other World Heritage property, however, remains lesser-known and … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we empty out our change purse and visit Dan Zelinsky—the owner and head mechanic of the Musée Mécanique—one of the few remaining vintage arcades in … | Continue reading
This location provides direct access to the gold mining underworld of Bendigo, which was responsible for Australia's Victorian gold rush. In addition to the well-maintained surface facilities, this location offers explorers the option to go deep below the earth's surface and trav … | Continue reading
Eden V, also known by the name Etsuyo Maru, was a Japanese cargo ship built in 1968. On December 16, 1988, the ship was grounded on the coast near Lesina Marina, despite not having sent a mayday call. The shipwreck has been left to rot for several decades and reportedly contained … | Continue reading
At the northern end of the Uniwersytecki bridge in Wroclaw, you might just miss this creepy hand that appears to be reaching out from between the stones that make up the bridge. As Wroclaw is said to be one of the most haunted cities in Poland, this hand may be connected to one o … | Continue reading
A brightly-colored bonanza of shopping, the Ima or "Mother's" Market covers three large buildings in the city of Imphal, India. Established in the 16th century, the market hosts around 5,000 vendors who sell a variety of products, from fruit and vegetables to seafood and spices t … | Continue reading
Though there is a lot of greenery even in the heart of Tokyo, from public parks to riverbanks, there remains only one natural gorge: the Todoroki Valley in Setagaya City. Carved by a river of spring water eroding layers of soft loam, the Todoroki Valley runs about half a mile thr … | Continue reading
The forested island of Ilha Grande, located off the of the coast of Brazil, is largely undeveloped. But towards the eastern end of the island, just outside the village of Abraão, you can find the ruins of a stone aqueduct. Built in 1893 at the request of Emperor Dom Pedro II, the … | Continue reading
The Sherman tank, known as Duguay Trouin, participated in the liberation of Dijon. On September 6, 1944, the tank, at the head of a platoon of five others in Dijon, was hit by two German anti-tank shells: three of the six men of the crew lost their lives there: Second Lieutenant … | Continue reading
Who can you count on when the chips are down? For one rural city in Kansas, the answer is easy. In the town square of Great Bend, visitors can find a bronze statue dedicated to Jack Kilby, the inventor of the microchip, who once called Great Bend home. Jack St. Clair Kilby was bo … | Continue reading
Just outside of Hot Springs, Arkansas, lies an extraordinary botanical garden. Built on a peninsula on Lake Hamilton, it has everything one expects in a garden of its size—large rose bushes, perfectly manicured tulip beds, a Japanese koi pond, an area dedicated to local flora, an … | Continue reading
Churches around the world are often adorned with representations of fish, owing to the Greek ikhthū́s (ichthys), appearing in the acrostic phrase ‘Iēsous CHristos THeou HYios Sōtēr’ meaning ‘Jesus Christ Son of God Savior’. But one church in Lewes, England, features a far larger … | Continue reading
The Dilmun Burial Mounds in Bahrain stand as poignant testaments to ancient civilizations and their reverence for the afterlife. Built between 2200 and 1750 B.C., these burial sites offer a glimpse into the beliefs and customs of the Dilmun civilization, which flourished in the r … | Continue reading
In the serene churchyard of St Mary the Virgin Parish Church, in the village of Friston on England's south coast is a small but poignant wooden cross. Its unpretentious, unadorned, design is simple yet striking, for it's boldly inscribed with the phrase "Washed Ashore," an indica … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we learn about the Beauly Elm, a gnarly looking elm tree rumored to be older than Britain itself. The tree was the anchor in a community—until beet … | Continue reading
THIS ARTICLE IS ADAPTED FROM THE MAY 4, 2024, EDITION OF GASTRO OBSCURA’S FAVORITE THINGS NEWSLETTER. YOU CAN SIGN UP HERE. I’ve had strawberries on my mind lately. We just wrapped up “Rites of Spring,” a week where Atlas Obscura explores how people around the world celebrate the … | Continue reading
From 1934 to 1962, Kamakura was known for its summer carnival. It was a huge event launched by a group of local writers and artists, inspired by a carnival that playwright Masao Kume saw in Nice, France. Though it was put on an eight-year hiatus during and after World War II, the … | Continue reading
The Longshoreman's Museum is a hidden gem most visitors haven't heard of. Celebrating the rich maritime history of the seaside town of Ventnor, the museum is housed in a small gift shop near the waterfront, offering visitors a fascinating glimpse into the lives and work of the is … | Continue reading
In 1665, Zheng Jing, the son of pirate lord Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), created the first Confucius temple and center for Confucian learning in Taiwan. When the Qing Dynasty conquered Taiwan in 1683, they quickly adapted it to their own regime. To this day, the elegant 350-year-ol … | Continue reading
The fertile fields of the Wabash River Valley in western Indiana are home to geological treasures. In the farming community of Williamsport, visitors can find the tallest waterfall in Indiana. Fall Creek, a short tributary of the Wabash River, feeds Williamsport Falls. Williamspo … | Continue reading
The EUR district of Rome is a strange place, a somewhat dystopian cityscape with monumental Fascist-era architecture commissioned by Benito Mussolini. Even its post-World War II landmark, a water tower built in 1957, is a unique structure that gives visitors a glimpse of the retr … | Continue reading
Next to the Archaeological Museum of Goa in the historic precinct of Old Goa is an impressive collection of stones from across the centuries. They have been kept along the side of the walkway like an open-air museum. These crumbling grey and green stone vestiges show details from … | Continue reading
Nebraskans know how to throw a party, and the weirder and more wondrous, the better. After all, this is where locals utilize steel water tanks for river floating, and an automotive replica of England’s Stonehenge rises from the plains. In fact, Nebraska’s wide-open landscape invi … | Continue reading
In Durrington, the Cuckoo Stone lies as a silent enigma while many flock to see its neighbor, Stonehenge. This squat sarsen stone, similar to those that tower tourists in Stonehenge, exudes esotericism and intrigues captivated scholars and archaeologists for centuries. Once a foc … | Continue reading
This piece was originally published in The Guardian and appears here as part of our Climate Desk collaboration. One of the most comprehensive biodiversity surveys ever carried out in a mangrove forest has revealed that an astonishing array of wildlife makes its home in these key, … | Continue reading
Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we go to Haiti to visit a royal residence once called the Versailles of the Caribbean. But though Sans-Souci Palace, once home to Haiti’s only king … | Continue reading
Atlas Obscura’s weekly crossword comes to us from Natan Last, a writer who also helps develop policy and digital products for refugees and asylum seekers. His work can be found in The Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books, The New Yorker, and other publications, and he's currentl … | Continue reading
Red and blue are a highly evocative color pairing. Put them together, and you can’t help but think hot or cold. Or left and right. A map of red and blue, but not politics Ironically, their political symbolism is reversed on either side of the Atlantic. In the U.S., red states are … | Continue reading
It’s hard to imagine how a building as grand as the City Methodist Church in Gary, Indiana, could ever become abandoned. Completed in 1926, the spectacular nine-story complex also included, at one time, a 1,000-seat theater, offices, a dining hall, and a gymnasium. Built at a cos … | Continue reading
In Latin, as well as in English, the toponym "Avernus" is synonymous with "hell" or "underworld." It comes from the name of a volcanic crater lake in Campania, Italy. It means "birdless" in Ancient Greek (áornos), likely named so for the toxic fumes seeping from the area, which i … | Continue reading
The wampus cat appeared in the American South, seemingly out of nowhere, at the turn of the 20th century. In the newspapers of the day, the frightening figment was, for most, nothing but a name associated with feral violence. In those early days of the 1900s, “wampus cat” was an … | Continue reading
It began when collector John Pottie found what he thought was a print of a game of billiards. Removing the art from the frame, he realized it was actually woven silk. How could such a small piece of art be created from fibers and a loom? The fascination ignited; soon the National … | Continue reading
Each week, Atlas Obscura is providing a new short excerpt from our upcoming book, Wild Life: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Living Wonders (September 17, 2024). You’re walking in the woods in Mozambique, humming to yourself. Suddenly, a small brown bird appears. You glimpse h … | Continue reading
On a cold New Year's Eve in 1967 in Ashley, North Dakota, newlyweds Donna and Delbert Eszlinger sliced excitedly into a large, round yellow onion. First, they split it lengthwise down the middle. Then, carefully, the couple peeled back the onion’s layers, laying 12 fresh, eye-wat … | Continue reading
During World War I, the town of Donora, Pennsylvania, located about 30 miles south of Pittsburgh, roared with activity. The mills in Donora manufactured steel for all sorts of wartime materiel and zinc, used to galvanize the steel to prevent rust. The mills required a growing num … | Continue reading
The Bahrain National Museum has on display a captivating tableau depicting the ancient Mesopotamian epic of Gilgamesh and Enki (aka Enkidu). The connection between Gilgamesh and the Dilmun civilization lies in the epic's references to Dilmun (modern-day Bahrain) as a paradisiacal … | Continue reading
Downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma contains many examples of Art Deco architecture, but among those many marvels, one building stands out as nearly a parody of the style. The “fauxback” Denver Avenue Station, with its exaggerated Art Deco elements, is not an architectural wonder. Instead, … | Continue reading
Over the last half-century Cinco de Mayo has morphed from a relatively quiet commemoration of the Mexican army’s victory over French troops in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, into a United States-centric celebration, usually centered around tacos and margaritas (and often mi … | Continue reading
Though the New Year might start on January 1, and the calendar puts mid-March as the start of spring, May is when it finally feels like winter is over. In England and North America, May and June also once meant the return of an exciting seasonal celebration: the strawberry party. … | Continue reading
In the upscale Prati neighborhood of Rome hides a sinister sanctum of horror with an underground dungeon displaying the darker side of Italian cinema. Founded in 1989, Profondo Rosso is a lot more than a mere little shop of horror memorabilia. To begin with, its owner is none oth … | Continue reading
While Chioggia is known for its canals, to the extent it is also known as "little Venice," most of its canal footbridges are relatively simple. However, where Vega Canal meets the sea a brilliant white structure, the Ponte Vigo, catches the eye. The current Vigo bridge is made of … | Continue reading
Now that nearly everybody carries a camera with them in their phone, photography is ubiquitous. But there were times when taking a picture was a big deal, and required expensive and hard-to-find equipment. In these early days, people became famous for their photography skills—som … | Continue reading
The freshness of spring is already in the air by February in the Croatian hilltop village of Viskovo. A riotous noise approaches: a cavalcade of bell-ringing, music, and screaming. In a magical-seeming ritual, an army of men in grotesque animal masks dance, draped in sheepskins, … | Continue reading
Ryūjin, literally translated as "Dragon God," is one of the major deities in Japanese mythology. An embodiment of the forces of nature, the dragon represents the sun, the sky, the element of water, disasters, fortune, and power. His worship stems from ancient animism and continue … | Continue reading
It was just about 4 a.m. when an otherworldly scream cut through the forests lining the Xingu River in northern Brazil. A couple walking along a nearby road hurried to hide behind a rubber tree. From that vantage point, they could see a shadowy figure approaching them. As it grew … | Continue reading
In the town of Battle, named for its role as the site of 1066’s Battle of Hastings, stands St. Mary's Church. The church is home to a grand piece of embroidery known as The Battle Tapestry. Designed by local artist Tina Greene, this masterpiece showcases the key historical events … | Continue reading
One of the few "official" trails in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, this path follows an old Jeep road some 5.5 miles up into the Sheep Range. It goes all the way from the low-desert Joshua tree-creosote bush biome in the valley beyond the range front to a ponderosa pine for … | Continue reading
Founded by nuns of the Order of the Sacred Hearts, this church opened in 1908 and took the same name: Sveta Srca means "Sacred Hearts." Following World War II, the order abandoned the church and adjoining convent, both being given over to the Archaeological Museum of Istria inste … | Continue reading