The grand ruins of the Argyll and Bute Hospital, first known as the Argyll District Asylum, are a fine example of the institutional psychiatric care provided across Scotland from the 1800s onwards. This building stands as a tangible reminder of its once vital role in providing he … | Continue reading
Isola Boschina is the oldest known island of the river Po—the longest river in Italy. When the island emerged in the 17th century, it became property of the bishop of Mantua. The island is big enough and in a good position to be one of the few stable river islands. The bishop gav … | Continue reading
Nicknamed the "City of Wool" for its long-lasting industry starting in the 12th century, Verviers is a city located between the city of Liège, the Dutch border, and the German border. In 1843, its convenient location along the first international railway line linking the port of … | Continue reading
Atlas Obscura is ringing in Native American Heritage Month with stories from across the country, from California to Wisconsin to Oklahoma. These Indigenous innovators are bringing back spirit horses, sculpting stories in snow, and finding other new ways to carry on old traditions … | Continue reading
Ahlat Selçuklu Mezarlığı is, as the locals will proudly tell you, the largest Islamic cemetery in Turkey and the fourth-largest in the world. Sandwiched between Lake Van to the south, Mount Suphan to the east, and Mount Nemrut towering to the west, the setting is stunning. But th … | Continue reading
The Canary Islands are a popular whale-watching destination, with primarily pilot whales being seen in their waters. In the past this was different and the locals would hunt these creatures. In El Médano, a replica whale spine commemorates this history. Vertebración y Desvertebra … | Continue reading
On a rural road in Western Australia, tucked back next to a driveway, there is a traditional London police call box. If you watched the television series Doctor Who, you might suspect that it's bigger on the inside. This a full-size replica of the TARDIS, the time and space trave … | Continue reading
The Convent of the Holy Apostles, the largest and most impressive in northwest Romania, stands on a plateau looking down on the Iza River. It was rebuilt starting in 1993 on the site of an old monastery abandoned during the 1790s and is now home to an Orthodox community of nuns. … | Continue reading
Watching over the city of Kathmandu, and the university students who daily pace back and forth beneath this belfry, the Ghantaghar clock tower has withstood the test of time. The name translates literally to “hour house,” and it has dominated Kathmandu’s skyline since it was buil … | Continue reading
Hachi, also known as Hachiko, is arguably one of the best-known dogs—or historical figures, even—in Japan. He famously waited for his master outside Shibuya Station for a decade after his death, becoming a symbol of loyalty. Now a statue of Hachiko stands on the spot, an iconic m … | Continue reading
For the vast majority of Somali history, a massive body of cultural heritage was preserved only orally. It was not that Somali society had never developed writing; archeological work has uncovered ancient stone inscriptions spanning thousands of years. The written word was just n … | Continue reading
While Newgrange may be the most famous Neolithic passage tomb in Ireland, Loughcrew is one of the most fabled. Around 3300-2900 BC, rock cairns were piled high atop four hills that sit side-by-side in modern-day County Meath. These hills are known as Slieve na Calliagh, or “Mount … | Continue reading
This imposing 25-foot-tall statue is one of a number by the artist Seward Johnson. Originally displayed in Florida under the name Unconditional Surrender, it is now called Embracing Peace, a name that has been in use since around 2015. The statue depicts a kiss between a sailor ( … | Continue reading
Piccadilly Gardens is one of the relatively few green areas within Manchester’s city center. However, the area not only contains green lawns and trees but also a major bus interchange, tram tracks (including two nearby bus stops), multiple statues, a fountain (which is only somet … | Continue reading
In the final scene of Crime and Punishment, the antihero Raskolnikov and his ostensible redeemer, Sonya, sit pensively reflecting on the vast Eurasian steppe and the freedom it had to offer. The scene was no doubt influenced by the years that Fyodor Dostoevsky spent in Siberian e … | Continue reading
Parched earth crunches under our boots as we walk across the eastern Colorado plains. It’s a late September day, and a vast expanse of cracked dirt—dappled with an occasional green spike of yucca and a scattering of yellow-flowering rabbitbrush—stretches out ahead of us. “Found o … | Continue reading
Since 1991, the Maine Troop Greeters at Bangor International Airport has hosted over 7,000 military flights and more than a million United States troops returning home from overseas deployments. In the Troop Room and Greeter Museum, visitors will find more than 6,000 unique chall … | Continue reading
In 1944, at the height of World War I, ditchdiggers working in a field known as Alken Enge, on the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark, made a gruesome discovery: human bones. It was quickly determined that the bones were not evidence of a recent murder—they were actually thousands of y … | Continue reading
Like a cataract of sensuous gilded Wallendas, the Dreams of Hyperion figures at 24 Bond Street cascade down the NoHo building. Once owned by Robert DeNiro’s mother and later the home of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, 24 Bond Street now hosts the thriving off-Broadway Gene Fran … | Continue reading
Since 2021, Barry Enderwick has charmed the Internet with his unfiltered reviews of “olden tymee” sandwiches. There’s the 1936 banana, cheese, pickle sandwich (“I thought it was going to be weird, but it’s not bad actually”) and the 1926 Crisco sandwich, made with creamed vegetab … | Continue reading
The 12-story V House in Ørestad, southern Copenhagen, is an intriguing modernist apartment block made of concrete, glass, and steel. It was completed in 2005, designed by two creative architects, Bjarke Ingels and Julien de Smedt, and shaped into an almost perfect V when viewed f … | Continue reading
As the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh has a lot going on. The city is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites (the combined Old and New Towns site in the central city, and the Forth Bridge in the suburb of South Queensferry), and it has been recognized as a City of Literature. It … | Continue reading
Mountain worship is a major aspect of traditional Japanese beliefs, most notably practiced in the Mount Fuji area. In the city of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, it can be found at Mount Iwaki, which rises to a summit elevation of 1,625 meters (5,331 feet). The whole mountain is reg … | Continue reading
The Tower of the Scipios, also known as the Torre dels Escipions in Catalan, was built in the 1st century BC as part of a Roman mausoleum dedicated to the illustrious family of Scipio, who were among the most influential and powerful of the time. The mausoleum, together with the … | Continue reading
Birkenhead Priory is like a hidden gem of medieval history that somehow feels both grand and humble at the same time. This is the oldest standing building on Merseyside, and if stones could talk, they’d probably have a lot of great stories to tell. The priory was founded in the 1 … | Continue reading
The Hanford Reach, bordering the Hanford Site to the north and east, is by far the longest free-flowing stretch of the Columbia River in the United States. When the Hanford Site was built during World War II, the only dams downstream from Grand Coulee Dam were Bonneville and Rock … | Continue reading
This article is adapted from the November 2, 2024, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. It pays to be prepared. That’s why, when I head out the door, I grab what I call “emergency cheese” to stuff in my tote bag. It’s just a single string … | Continue reading
Just off the main shopping street of Bahnhofstrasse in Rennweg, an odd metallic cylinder pokes out of the pavement. The strange object is what can be seen of Sodbrunnen, or Sod well, a 700-year-old well. During the medieval period, locals would draw their drinking water from the … | Continue reading
Straddling the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington, the Bonneville lock and dam was completed in 1938 as a means of transforming the unpredictable Columbia River into a powerhouse of hydroelectric energy. But what truly sets Bonneville apart is the fish ladders. These "s … | Continue reading
As theaters full of cushy recliner seats, food service, and the IMAX experience slowly become the norm for moviegoers, some fanatics still seek out a more classic, no-frills experience. Along Shrewsbury Road in Penistone, England, an unassuming single-screen theater keeps cinemat … | Continue reading
This story was originally published on The Conversation. It appears here under a Creative Commons license. It’s not every day that the name of a mountain is restored to the one used by Indigenous peoples for centuries. But after nearly two years of trying, the Eastern Band of Che … | Continue reading
The Grand Mosque of Mopti, also known as Komoguel Mosque, is a prime example of Sahelian and Niger Valley architecture that stands 15 meters tall and is made out of mud brick. This mosque was built in the 1930s, on the site of an older mosque that had been built in the early 20th … | Continue reading
The name Miguel Hernández is applied to numerous structures and institutions around Alicante and Elche on Spain's Costa Blanca. These include the airport serving Alicante and the university based in Elche. Hernández was one of the most important poets (amongst many poets and arti … | Continue reading
What could be more awesome and larger than life when standing in the face of a gigantic wall of ice? In the winter, you can enter the blue ice cave. In the summer, a rushing creek pours out of the cave. No matter the season, this place offers an adventure. In the early summer, th … | Continue reading
As strange as it might be to see Lady Liberty lifting her lamp not on Ellis Island, but in Aomori Prefecture, this large-scale replica is not even the only one in Japan. Arguably the most famous copy in the land is the Odaiba Statue of Liberty, which overlooks Tokyo Bay. There's … | Continue reading
Juniper is one of the trees most characteristic of the western United States. Typically they are a major component of the driest and hottest forest climatic zone, which occurs at the lowest elevations. (To be sure, "forest" can be a bit of an exaggeration, because the trees commo … | Continue reading
At a bridge where Bloor Street crosses the Humber river, a memorial plaque and a marker in the shape of a wave outline the history of Canada's deadliest hurricane. Hurricane Hazel hit the city of Toronto on October 15, 1954. According to historians, winds reached 77 miles per hou … | Continue reading
Floating on the serene (and cold!) waters of Lake Derby, the Lake Derby Floating Sauna is the ultimate way to steam away your worries. Picture this: you’re in a cozy, wood-fired sauna, sweating it out while surrounded by nothing but the tranquil Tasmanian wilderness. Just when yo … | Continue reading
Traversing from Old Quebec to the trendy Saint-Roch neighborhood of Québec City, there is a building that appears to be a large, beautiful church. If you walk up the steps and peek in the door, you'll find that this is not actually a church but a library, the Maison de la littéra … | Continue reading
The Wolford Chapel holds a significant place in the history and culture of Canada, as the burial place of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (modern-day Ontario). Though the church stands in the very English countryside of Devon, it is owned by Onta … | Continue reading
As we prepare for the election of the next president of the United States, here at Atlas Obscura, we're reflecting on the shocking stories of presidents and their partners. From sea slugs to first lady escapades, these are odd, interesting, and out-of-pocket details you probably … | Continue reading
All food is political–but some foods are more political than others. Not only can a dish serve as a symbol of identity or status, it can be tied to politics in a more literal sense. Some foods serve as a uniting factor by helping to raise money for a cause. Others establish a tim … | Continue reading
In a city famous for its cemeteries, one of the strangest is easy to miss. Its tombs are scattered in locations that seem improbable for interments: an antique shop, an old hotel, a museum. But these tombs have never held human occupants. Standing less than a foot tall, each is a … | Continue reading
The southeastern corner of the island of Sicily is home to the Necropolis of Pantalica, a collection of cemeteries with rock-cut chamber tombs. There are thought to be just under 4,000 tombs in the area, dating from the 13th to the 7th centuries BC. The area is of archaeological … | Continue reading
Turin, Italy, was once known as Europe's occult capital. Sure enough, rumors about Freemasons, alchemists, ghosts, the devil, and such continue to hover over this charming city of mysteries. Not far from the more famous Portone del Diavolo (Devil's Door), on Via Lascaris is a ser … | Continue reading
A little over a year ago, Daniel Crouch, one of the foremost dealers of rare books, maps, and atlases in the world, came into possession of a 19th-century map. It had been drawn by a man named Gregor MacGregor. “The first thing you need to know about Gregor MacGregor, from the Cl … | Continue reading
In Japan’s stormy summer of 1983, Ikuo Ishiyama couldn’t stop thinking about a chilling pattern among his patients. They were dead, but that wasn’t what troubled him. As a specialist in forensic medicine at Tokyo University, Ishiyama was accustomed to seeing dead bodies. However, … | Continue reading
Have you picked your Halloween costume yet? There’s still time, especially if you’re willing to brave the crowded, rubber mask–scented aisles of a costume store. There’s the standard witch hats and skeleton suits, tiny princess and superhero costumes for children, and supplies to … | Continue reading