The state in the northeastern United States on the Atlantic Ocean bears the official title Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia is one of the most scenic states and has historically significant sites.
The landscape is shaped by the Appalachian Mountains, up to 1,700 m high, and the Piedmont, which slopes down to the coastal plain. The Atlantic penetrates deep inland via the Chesapeake Bay, followed by the rolling hills of the Piedmont to the west and then gradually ascending to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
In Virginia there was strict segregation for a long time, it was only abandoned in the 1960s. The wealth of the first English colony in North America arose from the enslavement of black Africans, tobacco cultivation and plantation economy. Major battles of the North American War of Independence and the American Civil War fought in Virginia. Numerous memorial sites can still be visited today, vlg. under main attractions. Eight American presidents are from Virginia. This is where the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Constitution were written. It is the state with the richest historical heritage.
According to campingship, Virginia has the oldest parliament in the USA, the General Assembly, consisting of two chambers. The Senate has 40 members elected for four years, the Chamber of Representatives 100 members elected for two years. The largest city is Virginia Beach with 440,000 residents, followed by Norfolk with 240,000 residents and Chesapeake with 220,000 residents. The capital Richmond is the fourth largest city in the state with 204,000 residents.
Shenandoah National Park (official website):
with the Skyline Drive, which runs along the ridge in the Blue Ridge Mountains and runs through the entire national park.
Blue Ridge Parkway (official website):
The Blue Ridge are the southern foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Here, the Blue Ridge Parkway winds 469 miles / 750 km through the states of Virginia and North Carolina. The tourist route offers beautiful views of the species-rich forests and down into the valley and begins at Rockfish Gap (Milepost 0) in the Shenandoah National Park to the north and ends at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains in the Cherokee region (Milepost 469). There are numerous hiking trails.
Luray Caverns (official website):
on US 211 West in the Shenandoah Valley, huge and colorful caves with the only stalactite organ in the world.
Natural Bridge (official website):
a tall limestone arch that spans Cedar Creek near Lexington.
Colonial National Historic Park (official website):
with the former Jamestown Island peninsula, where the first English permanent settlement in North America was established in 1607. Costumed actors act out colonial life.
Yorktown (official website):
Site of the last decisive battle of the North American War of Independence in 1781.
Colonial Williamsburg (official website):
Restored city of Williamsburg from the 18th century, at the time the capital of the English colony.
Arlington National Cemetery (official website):
Heroes’ Cemetery with the tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the graves of numerous famous Americans
George Washington Birthplace National Monument (official website):
near Colonial Beach, east of Fredericksburg on Highway 3. In 1732, George Washington was born on the Popes Creek Estate. The original house no longer exists, but the life of the colonists of the 18th century was vividly modeled.
Mount Vernon (official website):
at Alexandria, Washington’s country house and final resting place.
George Washington’s Distillery (official website):
On March 30, 2007, the restored original Washington distillery opened at the exact location where it was founded in 1799. The distillery is considered a gateway to the American Whiskey Trail, which includes historic sites along with working distilleries that are open to the public, like Jim Beam and Wild Turkey in Kentucky and Jack Daniel’s in Tennessee.
George Masons House (official website):
near Alexandria, Masons is one of the fathers of the American constitution.
Monticello (official website):
near Charlottesville, country residence of President Thomas Jefferson.
Montpelier (official website):
near Charlottesville, home of President James Madison.
Ash Lawn (official website):
near Charlottesville, home of President James Monroe.
Birthplace of President Woodrow Wilson (official website):
in Staunton.
Appalachian Trail (official website):
Located in Virginia, 535 miles of the Appalachian Trail offers plenty of easy camping opportunities.
Memorials to events of the American Civil War:
- Manassas National Battlefield Park, Fredericksburg
- Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park
- Between December 1862 and May 1864 the four most violent battles of the American Civil War raged here.
- Richmond National Battlefield Park
- Petersburg National Battlefield
- Well known here is The Crater, which was caused by an explosion caused by the Union forces, in which 278 Confederate soldiers were killed.
- Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park
- Between December 1862 and May 1864 the four most violent battles of the American Civil War raged here.
- Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
- where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865 with the Confederate Army. Both generals negotiated the terms of surrender and thus sealed the American Civil War.
