Description of the attraction
Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is a Catholic cathedral in the Irish city of Limerick. Cathedral of St. John the Baptist was built in the second half of the 19th century on the site of the old chapel of St. John (1753). Initially, it was planned to build a relatively small parish church, but in the process of fundraising it turned out that the budget for the project had grown significantly, and it was decided to build a temple that would become the new cathedral of the diocese. The building of the cathedral was designed by the famous English architect Philip Charles Hardwick.
The first stone in the foundation of the future cathedral was laid in May 1856, and almost three years later the first service took place in the still unfinished church. The cathedral was fully opened to the public in July 1861, although by that time construction work was still in progress, the interior of the temple also required an impressive revision. The tower of the cathedral was designed separately, and its construction was completed in 1882. And in 1883, a bell weighing one and a half tons, specially cast for the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, was delivered to Limerick from Dublin. The cathedral was illuminated only in 1894, and officially received the status of a “cathedral” in January 1912, in accordance with the decree of Pope Pius X.
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is built of blue Limerick limestone and is an immense and impressive neo-Gothic structure that clearly shows the influence of the famous Salisbury Cathedral. The tower, with its crowning spire, is 93 meters high and is the tallest building in Limerick, as well as the tallest religious building in Ireland. The interior of the temple is also striking. The magnificent stained-glass windows and numerous statues and sculptures of the cathedral undoubtedly deserve special attention.
