Library of Congress

The Library of Congress, founded in 1800, is one of the largest libraries in the world and is the oldest public cultural institution in the United States. In addition to its unique library collections, it attracts the attention of many visitors with its architecture. The Library of Congress complex includes three buildings on Capitol Hill connected by underground passageways, as well as a depository in Virginia.

The history of the Library is filled with numerous dramatic events, as well as the history of the Capitol building, in which it was located almost throughout the XIX century. Several times the library was damaged by fires, the fire killed most of the books received in the library as a gift from the third President of the United States Thomas Jefferson.

In 1897, a new library building was erected, the architecture of which traces elements of the Italian Renaissance. 26 artists and 22 sculptors worked on the project of the new building, and as a result of their joint creative efforts, an authentic work of art was created. In addition to its architectural charms, the Library was a real engineering miracle of the time - it housed its own power station, fire-fighting bookshelves, as well as special elevators for books. The main facade of the Library building is decorated with a magnificent fountain, remotely reminiscent of the famous Roman Trevi Fountain.

The Library of Congress has more than 132 million copies of books published in 470 languages, hundreds of thousands of microfilms, about 5 million maps, notes, numerous engravings, photographs and even comics, more than 1 million copies of newspapers published over the past three centuries. This is a truly unique and universal collection of literature.