jonathancarey's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Santa Fe, New Mexico

La Conquistadora, Our Lady of Conquering Love

A small side chapel in Santa Fe's basilica is home to the oldest statute of the Virgin Mary in North America.
Landrum, South Carolina

Silver Springs Filling Station

Replica of an old Esso filling station, complete with Wayne gravity pump and outhouse.
Washington, D.C.

Dumbarton Oaks Birthing Figure

This fertility idol of questionable authenticity inspired an iconic Indiana Jones artifact.
Sperlonga, Italy

Via Flacca Ruins

The remains of this medieval Roman road and lookout towers dot the rugged coastline of southern Lazio.
Odintsovsky District, Russia

Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces

A solemn, monumental, kitschy palace of worship honoring victory in the Great Patriotic War.
Bratislava, Slovakia

Biatec Monument

A massive sculpture of an obscure Celtic coin that has become a symbol in Slovakia.
Rocchetta Alta, Italy

Rocchetta a Volturno

This medieval settlement was abandoned after a series of landslides. What remained was largely destroyed during a mock battle for a WWII film reel.
New Orleans, Louisiana

Café Lafitte in Exile

One of the oldest continuously-operated gay bars in the United States is allegedly haunted by Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams.
Rajgir, India

Son Bhandar Caves

A pair of mysterious, unusually polished cave temples with an ancient gold legend.
Federal Way, Washington

Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden

This 22-acre botanical garden is home to the largest collection of rhododendrons in the world.
Birmingham, England

Moseley Bog

An ancient woodland that inspired a young J.R.R. Tolkien.
Vratna, Serbia

Vratna Gates

These natural stone bridges are the largest on the European continent.
Brno, Czechia

Kristek's House

Of all the houses that grace this neighborhood, only one is a testament to surreal architecture.
Montreal, Québec

Charlevoix Stained Glass Windows

A swirling spectrum of stained glass dazzles visitors who enter this subway station.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dharma Realm Guan Yin Sagely Monastery Canteen

Come for the chanting, stay for the monastical vegan buffet.
Kaliningrad, Russia

Fort No. 5 "Friedrich Wilhelm III"

This monument commemorates the soldiers who fought for 16 hours straight to penetrate this concrete fort.
Penteli, Greece

Monastery Penteli

The heads and relics of 179 monks slaughtered by pirates are on display within this Ceonobic Monastery.
Zegartowice, Poland

Grzyb skalny w Zegartowice (Zegartowice Mushroom Rock)

This mushroom-shaped rock has frustrated and fascinated locals for centuries.
Machynlleth, Wales

Bron-Yr-Aur

Led Zeppelin wrote some of their most iconic songs at this little 18th-century Welsh cottage.
Cathedral City, California

Museum of Ancient Wonders

Nestled in Coachella Valley, this museum transports guests from the Mesozoic Era, to the land of Egyptian kings.
Washington, D.C.

The Lindens

The oldest house in Washington, D.C. wasn't originally constructed in the nation's capital.
Montreal, Québec

René Lévesque Park

This exuberantly curated landscape is one of the largest sculpture gardens in Canada.
Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany

Bunkers in Staatswald

These abandoned Cold War-era bunkers are now a designated refuge for endangered bat species.
Pastrana, Spain

Parroquia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Collegiate Church of Pastrana) Crypt

To fit bodies into this Renaissance crypt, they were first left to decompose in the crypt's rotting room.