EricGrundhauser's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Novara, Italy

The Ossuary of Bicocca

This Italian pyramid is said to hold the mingled remains of the dead from both sides of the Battle of Novara.
Venice, Italy

San Giorgio in Alga

This abandoned island off the Venetian coast has been a radical monastery, a political prison, and a secret Nazi base.
Costa Rica

Genius River Bridge

One Costa Rican island is so beset by illegal shark poachers that the local rangers have built an entire bridge with their confiscated gear .
Paris, France

World's Oldest Basketball Court

Despite being considered a thoroughly American sport, basketball's oldest surviving playing field is found in the basement of a Paris YMCA.
Laurel, Maryland

Forest Haven Asylum

This abandoned asylum was once a state of the art facility before devolving into one of the most deadly mental institutions in American history.
Waidhofen, Germany

Hinterkaifeck Memorial

A small concrete monument remembers a German cold case involving incest, farm tools, and psychics.
Raufarhöfn, Iceland

The Arctic Henge

This modern monument to pagan belief looks like it was transported straight from ancient times.
Independence Township, New Jersey

Shades of Death Road

This ominously named New Jersey street seems to be attracting over-the-top legends of its own making.
Louisville, Kentucky

Pope Lick Trestle Bridge

This railroad overpass is said to be home to a murderous goat-man whose very legend has led to very real deaths.
Brandon, Iowa

Iowa's Largest Frying Pan

The Iowa state contender for largest pan in the world oddly only comes in second or so.
Pacifica, California

McCloskey Castle

Abortion, prohibition, religion, war, and fear all play a part in the history of this idiosyncratic Pacifica castle.
Québec City, Québec

Château Frontenac

This lovely, if imposing, piece of Canadian gothic is possibly the most photographed hotel in the world.
Zarcero, Costa Rica

Parque Francisco Alvarado

This Costa Rican topiary park is a surreal garden of unearthly delights.
Blaenavon, Wales

Blaenavon Ironworks

This former Welsh metal factory is now a lovely abandoned relic but was once one of the industry's world leaders.
Akhali Atoni, Georgia

New Athos Cave

The second largest in the world, this massive underground void has its own subway.
Herzberg am Harz, Germany

Unicorn Cave

What was once thought to be a wellspring of unicorn bones is actually just a prehistoric burial site.
Vatican City

La Resurrezione

If you want to talk to the Pope you will have to stare down this surreal vision of Jesus rising from a nuclear hell.
Suita-shi, Japan

Tower of the Sun

Closed for decades, this strange symbol of Japan's Expo '70 has finally opened its psychedelic insides to the public.
New York, New York

Track 61

This abandoned subway station beneath the Waldorf-Astoria hotel is allegedly used to secretly transport presidents.
Silverton, Australia

Mad Max 2 Museum

This shrine to film's most iconic wasteland wanderer is located in the very outback where the movies were shot.
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts

Busta Rhymes Island

One man is on a singular quest to name an island after a famous hip-hop artist.
Waxahachie, Texas

Desertron: The Superconducting Super Collider

A Texas-sized particle collider that was abandoned due to its Texas-sized budget.
Karachi, Pakistan

Mumtaz Begum

For more than 40 years this Barnum-inspired half-fox, half-woman has been telling fortunes from her cage in a Pakistani zoo.
Paris, France

Le Comptoir Général

This Paris art space celebrates the creativity and ingenuity that springs from abject poverty, especially in Africa.