Special churches and temples
Christ Church in Alexandria
The Christ Church in Alexandria is a typical example of an episcopal church in the United States. It was built in colonial style by John Carlyle between 1767 and 1783 and co-designed by George Washington. On January 1, 1942, the day of prayer for peace, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill even visited her. The 15 m high church has two floors and was listed in 1970. It has around 2,400 followers.
Cathedral of the Sacred Heart
The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart is a pompous cathedral in the center of Virginia’s capital, located on North Laurel Street across from Monroe. The huge sacred structure was constructed in the neo-renaissance style and its construction then cost around $ 14 million. The first stone was laid in 1903, 3 years later it existed fully and has belonged to the Catholic diocese of Richmond. With its turquoise cathedral, the cathedral measures 36 m, without it it is 27 m.
St. Luke’s Church
St. Luke’s Church (also known as Old Brick Church) is a Gothic church built in 1632 in the independent city of Benns in the Isle of Wight County. It is the oldest church in the United States, built of brick at the time of the 13 colonies and still exists. It is also the first church built by British settlers on what is now American soil. Its exterior is listed as a fine example of the architectural style of the Post-Reformation with Gothic influences. Weddings are mainly held in the church today. Trade fairs are also held there four times a year.
- Countryaah: Lists all towns and cities of Virginia in alphabetical order. Also includes top 10 cities by population in Virginia. Check medicinelearners for medical schools in Virginia.
Ekoji Buddhist Temple
The Ekoji Buddhist Temple is a Jōdo-Shinshū Buddhist temple in Fairfax Station, which belongs to the second largest Japanese denomination. The temple is a member of the Buddhist Churches of America, the oldest Buddhist organization in the United States. The Ekoji (Japanese: temple that was given light) was created in 1981 at the urging of the bishop of the Buddhist association to spread their religion in the United States. Other Ekoji temples can be found in Germany, Mexico and of course in Japan.
Big celebrations and events
Virginia State Fair
The Virginia State Fair is held each year in late September at Meadow Event Park in Caroline County. As with every state fair in the United States, you will find stalls, rides, rodeos, concerts, and animal and agricultural auctions and competitions. It developed from a purely agricultural event, which was mainly about trading or selling animals, to an entertainment event where young and old like to get together.
Neptune Festival
The Neptune Festival in Virginia Beach has existed since 1793 and takes place every year in late September. It was founded to celebrate Virginia’s heritage, culture and history, and to bring together the residents of the city of Virginia Beach. Every year 50,000 take place at the festival, which includes concerts, food, games and fun. The festival is free, only a small entrance fee has to be paid for the exhibition of the sand sculptures, which mainly distinguish the Neptune Festival.
Pony Penning
Pony Penning or Chincoteague Pony Swim is an annual event that has been held in Chincoteague, a village on Chincoteague Island since the end of July 1925. This is the driving of the ponies through the Assateague Channel from Assateague to Chincoteague. The animals – driven by cowboys – swim their way from one island to the other, where they are then herded and partially sold. The Chincoteague Pony (also called Assateague Pony) is a pony breed that lives on the Atlantic island of Assateague between Virginia and Maryland and lives there in the wild.
Zoos, parks and amusement parks
Virginia Zoo in Norfolk
The Virginia Zoological Park or simply Virginia Zoo has existed since 1900 and is located in the second largest city in the state of Norfolk. The Virginia Zoo is rather small compared to other state zoos in the United States. It is home to around 115 different species and around 400 animals that come from all continents. The exhibitions include the North America Exhibition, the Prairie Dog Exhibition, the African Okavango Delta Exhibition and the Trail of the Tiger Exhibition, of which the zoo is particularly proud. This exhibition opened in 2011 and is home to a large number of animals from Asia, including Malaysian tigers and tapirs, orangutans, Siamangs and rhinoceros.
Great Falls Park
The approximately 3.7 km² Great Falls Park in Virginia runs along the Potomac River and is characterized by its rapid current and several waterfalls, which make it particularly attractive for extreme water sports enthusiasts. The difference in height in the park amounts to 20 m and its gradient has already been doomed to several people. The park is located on the former Pontowmack Canal, the oldest canal in the United States, which is no longer in use today. Great Falls Park is managed by the United States National Service Park and is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Appalachian Trail
The 3500 km Appalachian Trail, the longest hiking trail in the world, runs through a total of 14 states, from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. It leads through the Appalachian Mountains and is classified as a historical hiking trail that leads through many nature reserves and is managed by the National Park Service. 890 km of the trail belongs to Virginia and runs along Shenandoah National Park and over Mount Rogers, the state’s highest mountain. In the north, the route is often described as very strenuous for hikers, since the ground is often softened due to the long rain.
National park
Shenandoah National Park
The approximately 800 km² Shenandoah National Park comprises part of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Piedmond region in Virginia, which belongs to the southern Appalachian Mountains. It was founded in 1935, has a total of 800 km of hiking trails and is known, among other things, for the 170 km long and famous Skyline Drive street, which leads once through the park. The Shenandoah National Park is mainly characterized by thick forest cover and numerous streams and waterfalls – some of them measure up to 30 m high – as well as caves in which black bears still live. The park includes a total of eight counties in Virginia. The closest town is Waynesboro.
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
The Appalachian Trail (officially: Appalachian National Scenic Trail) has a total length of approx.3,500 km, making it one of the longest long-distance hiking trails in the world.
The Appalachian Trail runs north to south through the 14 U.S. states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia. The Appalachian Trail begins in the state of Georgia on the summit of Springer Mountain (1,152 m) and ends on the summit of Mount Katahdin (1,606 m), the highest mountain in the state of Maine.
The Appalachian Trail is managed by the National Park Service of the USA.
The Appalachian Trail, as its name suggests, leads through the Appalachian Mountains, a low mountain range in the east of North America. The trail is classified as a historical hiking trail and leads through many nature reserves, including 6 national parks and 8 national forests. The trail originated in the 1920s. It was founded around people
To offer a change to the working life of the industrialization period The Appalachian Trail was officially opened on August 14, 1937, but at the time it was not very well received by the media. Much media attention was paid to the Appalachian Trail in 1948 when Earl Shaffer ran the entire trail in one season, becoming the first Thru-Hiker. The course of the Appalchian Trail is partly based on other historical routes.
There are over 250 huts and campsites along the trail. Since the trail runs through several cities, it is quite possible to refresh your provisions on the way. Who also plans to run the entire trail in one go (thru-hike) should plan around 5 to 6 months and start in March or April.
If you tackle the Appalachian Trail, you may get to know black bears, white-tailed deer, wapitis or elk on the hike. You should also watch out for snakes, as there are species such as the copper head or the northern rattlesnake on the trail. There are also ticks, mosquitoes (mosquitoes) and black mosquitoes, which can also be a nuisance.
The Appalachian Trail was mentioned in literature in Bill Bryson’s work “A walk in the woods”. Every year 3 to 4 million people run at least a small part of the Appalachian Trail.
In Virginia, the trail runs approximately 890 km. Of these, approximately 32 km run on the West Virginia border. The trail runs through Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.
| Contact | www.nps.gov/appa/index.htm |
Other natural beauties
Chesapeake Bay
The 12,000 km² Chesapeake Bay (German: Chesapeake Bay) between Virginia and Maryland is the largest river mouth in the USA. A total of 150 rivers of various sizes, including the Rappahanock and the Potomac River as well as countless other smaller bodies of water flow into the Chesapeake Bay, whose catchment area is approximately 170,000 km². The bay and its area consist of many different landscapes such as B. marshes, forests, beaches, sand dunes, swamps, pastures and the Delmarva peninsula, which is partly in the Atlantic Ocean and is known for its wild horse population. Chesapeake Bay is one of the most significant landscapes in the United States.
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge has been a protected wetland area between Virginia and North Carolina since 1973 and is located in the state coastal plain. The approximately 500 km² wetland, in the middle of which is the 12.5 km² Lake Drummond, is heavily forested, with the trees mainly consisting of pine, maple, poplar and fern. The protected area is a refuge for many different animal species. B. still bobcats and black bears, which can be observed less and less.
Backbay National Wildlife Refuge
In the south-east town of Virginia Beach is the nearly 40 km² Backbay National Wildlife Refuge, a nature reserve that was built in 1938 and is under the control of the US Fish & Wildlife Service. The area is located directly on the Atlantic Ocean and belongs to the Outer Banks of Virginia. It consists of many sand dunes, endless beaches, small rivers, swamps and headlands.
Luray Caverns
West of the city of Luray near the Shenandoah National Park are the 282 m high Luray Caverns (German: Luray Caves), which represent the largest natural cave system in the eastern United States. They are approximately 0.26 km² in size and were first discovered in 1878. Since then, they have been one of the most popular tourist attractions in Virginia. This is certainly not least due to the underground lakes in the gold-colored caves and the Great Stalacpipe Organ. The Great Stalacpipe Organ is the world’s largest underground musical instrument, which makes the cave rock vibrate with small hammer blows and thus produces sounds.
Assateague Island
Assateague Island is a quiet, unspoiled and not yet particularly dune island that belongs to Maryland and Virginia. The entire 60 km long island has been declared a National Natural Landmark and is a protected area. It consists of long, pure and white sandy beaches, clear streams, swamps and sand dunes. Around 150 wild Assateague ponies live in the southern third of the state of Virginia, and around 100 animals in the part of Maryland. The two parts of the island are separated by a fence. In order to prevent the herds from becoming too large, the surplus animals in part of Virginia are floated to the neighboring island of Chincoteague as part of a large event and auctioned off there after a 10-minute swim.
