Built between 1839 and 1855 in a Lombard Romanesque style and designed by the German architect Ole Jørgen Schmidt, the Basilica Cathedral of St. John the Baptist exemplifies the beautiful contrast of polychromy and austerity typical of early Victorian architecture. Situated high above the city, the simple Latin-cross-plan structure is enlivened with a combination of white Irish granite and local gray stone. Inside, despite the building’s expansiveness and colorfully painted coffers, the mostly white walls and flat ceiling suggest a grave monumental simplicity.
