The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (PL: Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lublin. Built between 1592 and 1617 by the newly-arrived Jesuit Order in Lublin, the legacy of whom can be seen in the street name ul. Jezuicka (ENG: Jesuit Street). Lublin cathedral is one of the first Baroque churches in Poland, notably modelled after the Chiesa del Gesù in Rome. The impressive three-aisled basilica was severely damaged by fire in the mid 18th-century and was rebuilt with a stunning interior painted with illusionist frescoes by Józef Meyer, the talented court painter of Augustus III of Saxony. In 1773, the Jesuits lost control of the church to the Trinitarian Fathers and the basilica was designated as a cathedral in 1809. The Trinity Tower, which now offers stunning views of Lublin Old Town, went up in 1821. Suffering damage in WWII, part of the church's property had been separated to house the State Archives. Since 1992, Lublin cathedral became the seat of the archdiocese.
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