The official name of Washington DC, the capital of the United States of America, is the District of Columbia. To distinguish the city from another state of the same name, Americans abbreviate DC (District of Columbia). Washington usually refers to one of the greenest states in the northwestern part of the country.

The capital, named after the first president of the USA – George Washington, was founded in 1791. The city of Washington is not part of any of the 50 states of the USA, its area is 177 km/sq., and its population is only about 700 thousand. But on weekdays, the population is close to 1 million due to the number of people who come to the offices here.

By itself, this is where the most important government organizations of the United States are located.

First, we went to the Capitol, the building where the US Parliament – Congress is located. Representatives of the independent people, who are the basis of modern democracy, sit here.

The building that housed the Congress was called the Capitol and was completed in 1800, but was later expanded several times. Both houses of the US Congress – representatives and senators – conduct their activities here.

All government buildings in the United States are considered public buildings, and you can freely enter and take pictures there, of course, without pre-registration and without interfering with the activities of congressmen.

The Library of Congress is located near the Parliament building. The library was founded in 1800 and is also the main library of the United States. The reason it is called the Library of Congress is that at first only the president and congressmen could use it. The library, which opened with 740 books and 3 maps, currently has more than 160 million books, manuscripts, newspapers, scientific and historical resources in 450 languages.

This place, enriched with more than a million books and manuscripts every year, is at the same time the world’s largest library.

The library is an official department of the US Congress, and it also employs specialists who prepare reports and analysis for the Congress itself.

The 3 main buildings of the Library of Congress are located next to each other and are connected to each other by underground tunnels.

The US Supreme Court is also located near the Congress. The building of the Supreme Court is relatively young – it was completed in 1935. Until then, judges sat in the Capitol and other buildings.

There are 9 justices on the US Supreme Court, who are appointed by the president for life with the consent of the Senate. In the USA, since 1803, the Supreme Court has been given the function of evaluating whether all regulatory documents are compatible with the Constitution or not.

Our next destination was the world-famous White House, the official residence of the US presidents. On the day of our visit, due to the World Democracy Summit, security measures were tightened around the White House and the distance to approach the building was increased by several meters. Around the building, there are always various demonstrations going on.

The White House, like other government offices, is open to Americans. Foreign citizens can enter the White House only through their ambassadors to the US.

The White House was built in 1792-1800 and is 21 meters high. It was used as an official residence by all the leaders of the United States, starting with the 2nd president of the United States, John Adams. Also, in a part of the building, US presidents live with their families.

The name White House was given to the building in 1901 by Theodore Roosevelt. The media uses the term White House to mean the administration of the US president.

The Washington Monument is located in front of the White House. The monument was built in 1844-1885 in memory of George Washington. The height of the building built at the expense of donations is 169 meters, and its weight is 91 thousand tons.

In addition, the US capital is home to many notable buildings. Among these are the Abraham Lincoln and World War II monuments located close to each other.

The World War II monument was opened in 2004. There is a water basin in the center of the monument and 56 pillars on both sides. Also, 4,000 stars were pinned here in honor of American soldiers who died in World War II. Each star represents one hundred American soldiers who died in World War II.

A huge monument was erected in honor of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the USA, who left a bright mark in the civil war that started after the official abolition of slavery in the country.

In addition, the city of Washington is famous for its cherry blossoms and sakura imported from Japan.

In fact, the fruits brought to America by entrepreneurs, and later thanks to the gifts of Japanese officials, greatly increased both in the capital and in other states. Also, in the USA, festivals are held every year during the flowering period of these trees.

Washington is also the capital with the largest number of embassies in the world.

The Ukrainian flag and slogans condemning the war were hung on many houses in front of the Russian embassy, which occupies a large square.

Of course, a few days’ trip is not enough to fully explore and introduce even smaller areas like Washington. Follow us on our pages for the shows and reports we prepared during our trip to the United States.