Welcome to the mighty United States Capitol.
The Capitol is the home to both the House of Representative and the US Senate, making
it one of the worlds most influential and powerful places.
The magnificent building ahead of you is meant to reflect this status, which many people
think it does from its commanding location on top of Capitol Hill.
The history if the US Capitol dates back to late 18th century, when George Washington
signed the Residence act of 1790, which made Washington DC the capitol of the United States.
Pierre Charles L'Enfant was made responsible for creating a city plan for the new capital.
L'Enfant chose to locate the Congress House on the crest of the hill today known as Capitol
Hill, a hill he described as "a pedestal waiting for a monument".
Thomas Jefferson insisted that the building would be called the "Capitol" instead of the
"Congress House".
This due to the fact that the word Capitol is a Latin word which actually means "city
on a hill".
Jefferson had his will done, which is why the building today is known as the United
States Capitol.
The construction of the Capitol began in 1793, when President George Washington laid the
foundation stone.
The senate wing stood completed in 1800, while the House wing was completed eleven years
later.
By this time, the completed Capitol was only a small part of today's building.
The building was lacking its dome and it was not flanked by the outer buildings you can
see connected to it today.
The completed building didn't last long, as the Capitol was set on fire shortly after
its completion during the War of 1812 against the British.
The reparation work however went smoothly which brought the building back to its former
glory.
The reparation work was followed by several expansions of the building in the mid 19th
century.
These expansions include the massive "wedding cake"-like dome, which shapes the Capitol
and has become the trademark of the building we know today.
The architectural planning was a joint effort of several architects.
The initial design was done by amateur architect William Thornton who designed it in typical
neoclassical style.
Thornton was inspired by the Louvre in Paris and the ancient Pantheon.
The inspiration from the latter is obvious when looking at the eastern façade with its
temple like entrance.
The main dome was inspired by several European churches, including the great dome of St.
Peter's Basilica in the Vatican and the St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
If you look at the top of the dome, you will see that it is crowned by a large bronze statue.
This state is known as the "Statue of Freedom".
The statue depicts a female whose right hand holds a sheathed sword and in the other a
laurel wreath of victory and the shield of the United States.
She stands on an iron globe encircled with one of the national mottoes; "E pluribus unum"
which is Latin for "Out of many - one".
While the outside of the Capitol is magnificent, the same is very much true for its inside.
The inside holds several famous paintings depicting major events in the discovery of
America and the foundation of the United States.
The inside also holds the National Statuary Hall Collection, a collection consisting of
statues donated by each state of the union.
Each state has donated two statues picturing notable persons in their history.
Together they form an impressive gathering of some of the most important people in the
history of the states.
As of December 2008, the Capitol also has a visitor center with an underground entrance
on the east side of the Capitol.
The main function of the visitor center is to serve as a more orderly entrance for visitors
to the Capitol.
The Capitol Visitor Center provides however much more than just an entrance.
Inside you can find a visitors theater, rooms for exhibits and dining and restroom facilities.
You can also find a plaster cast of the Statue of Freedom down in the underground center,
next to the stairs leading up to the Capital itself.
The total cost for building the underground, 3-level, 54.000 m2 Capitol Visitor Center
was a stunning $621 million.
The Capitol, and the surrounding Capitol Hill, is often host for political demonstrations
and other major events, including presidential inaugurations held every four years.
The building was ranked as number six in a survey conducted in 2007, with the objective
of ranking America's Favorite Architecture.
The list was dominated by the many monuments and memorials you can find here on the National
Mall area in Washington DC, an area truly dedicated to the United States of America
and its history.
Many say that the Capitol, being the east-most part of the mall, is the perfect crown jewel
of this magnificent area.