The Library of Congress is not only the largest library in the world, but also one of the most beautiful architectural ensembles of the city. The main building is Thomas Jefferson, decorated in the style of the Italian Renaissance.
Initially, the library was located in the Capitol and was intended to serve the Congress. After the British burned the Capitol in 1814, Thomas Jefferson sold 6,487 books from his personal collection to Congress. In 1851, misfortune again overtook the library - a fire destroyed two-thirds of the book fund. After that, the number of books began to grow without any problems. As a result, the library moved to a separate building, and over time there were three of them.
Currently, the Library holds more than 120 million copies of printed publications, which includes more than 18 million books, 4.5 million cards and paper of 23 US presidents.
The true gems of the collection are the Mainz Bible and the Gutenberg Bible, printed in Germany in the middle of the 15th century.