Washington D.C

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial also called the Wall, honours the men and women who died in the Vietnam War. It is situated in the northeast of the Lincoln memorial. It is a simple but very impressive and moving memorial. The names of almost 60,000 men and women who gave their lives in the Vietnam War are inscribed on the polished black granite walls which look like a huge open book.

National Archives

There is much to see in the National Archives, too. Thousands of documents important to American history including the three most important documents are stored there. They are the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights (Listina zákl.lidských práv). Americans are very proud of these three; they say they are the most important things America has given the world. These documents are stored "forever". They are in a vacuum case of bullet-proof glass and every night and in an emergency they are lowered into a bomb-proof shelter under the ground. Even if an atomic bomb was to be dropped on Washington, the documents would remain unharmed.

THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

The Library of Congress is de facto national library of the United States and is the largest library complex in the world with a collection of over 150 million items on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves.

THE Smithsonian Institution

It is an educational and research institute and museum complex, funded by the government and by funds, contributions, and profits from its shops and its magazine. Most of the institution is located in Washington, D.C. (there are 11 Smithsonian museums only on the National Mall), but its 19 museums, zoo, and eight research centres include sites in New York City, Virginia, Panama, and elsewhere. The Smithsonian Institution is the largest museum complex in the world, and many of its buildings are historical and architectural landmarks. Smithsonian also has a large number of traveling exhibitions. The most visited of the Smithsonian museums on the Mall are the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of American History or the National Museum of the American Indian.

Ford's Theatre

It is most well known as the place where Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on 15th April 1865 (at the age of 65) during the play Our American Cousin.

THE PENTAGON

The Pentagon is a large building in Arlington, Virginia, that is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defence. It has five sides in the shape of a pentagon. There are 23,000 people working in it. The Pentagon is the biggest office building in the world, but you can reach any place in the building within 7 minutes. The public may take a 60 minute long tour of the building.