Jan de Witte Jan de Witte ( 1709 – 1785 ) was a Polish military engineer , professional officer and architect of Dutch descent . The author of , among others , the Dominican church in Lwów ( modern Lviv , Ukraine ) and the Carmelite monastery in Berdyczów ( modern Berdychiv , Ukraine ) , he was also the military commandant of the fortress at Kamieniec Podolski ( modern Kamianets - Podilskyi , Ukraine ) . Personal life . Jan de Witte was born in the Russia n army encampment near Poltava on 8 July 1709 , as a son of Jan de Witte ( the Elder ) , professional officer coming from a Dutch Protestant family from Dordrecht , at that time employed in the Russian army which waged war with Sweden . In 1718 Jan the Witte ( the Elder ) was received into the army of Polish – Lithuanian Commonwealth , and took up residence in the town of Kamieniec in Podolia possessing the famous fortress . At that time he probably turned Catholic , he also married a local woman from a prominent noble family . His first son , Jan de Witte ( the Younger ) , after completing schooling in Jesuits ' college , joined the ranks of Polish royal artillery corps in February 1726 , in which he later served until his death . Being promoted several times ( captain in 1735 , major in 1751 , lieutenant - colonel in 1754 , colonel of the artillery in 1762 , major - general in 1767 ) , he finally became lieutenant general in 1781 , from 1768 being also appointed as the commander of the mentioned Kamieniec fortress and other minor frontier forts in Podolia simultaneously . In 1735 he married Marianna Lubońska who bore him numerous offspring . His career ' s supporter and promoter was a powerful Polish noble , Grand Crown Hetman Wacław Rzewuski . In his later years he also attracted attention of king Stanisław August Poniatowski , who , in an act of recognition of his loyal duty , highly rated knowledge and works , awarded him with the Order of St . Stanislaus in 1781 . It was Rzewuski who pronounced a recognition of de Witte family ' s " indygenat " ( the recognition of foreign status as a noble ) in 1764 , four years later positively approved by the Polish Sejm . Jan de Witte was considered as an authority not only in the art of war , but also in questions concerning the Near East , as he was one of the best - informed specialists in Polish - Turkish affairs . For example , he kept a wide correspondence with the Turkish pasha s from Ottoman frontier forts along the Commonwealth ' s south - eastern border . As a military man he enjoyed a reputation of a rational , but also exceptionally demanding and severe officer , especially among those under his command , which resulted in incapability of gaining affection among his subordinates and goodwill among the military command ( for instance , his abilities were often questioned by Alojzy von Brühl , chief general of Polish royal artillery corps ) . During the course of his military career he managed to amass a small fortune , including the rural estate at Sawiń . De Witte was a passionate collector of coins and medallions , also a great book - lover . Jan de Witte died on 22 December 1785 , and two days later his remains were interred in the cathedral church of Kamieniec , after a grandiose military funeral solemnity . Works . Today , Jan de Witte is primarily known as a designer of numerous architectural works in the contemporary Western Ukraine , which in the 18th century constituted a part of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth . Possibly de Witte ' s first work was the design for the upper church of Barefooted Carmelites monastery in Berdychiv , beginning in 1737 ( there exists preserved self - drawn sketches of the church ' s facade from 1743 ) . His main works are to be found in Lviv . In 1740s he probably authored the Rococo redesigning of a town house ( no . 2 ) at the city ' s old town market square . In 1744 the Dominican brothers of Lwów made up decision to have their old , Gothic temple temple demolished , due to its very bad constructional condition , and entrusted de Witte with drawing up plans for the new edifice . The construction works soon started and this very costly architectural investment was ready in its basic form by the year 1759 . Subsequently the interior works begun and the church was eventually consecrated on 29 June 1764 . The Dominican church , resembling to some point and probably also inspired by the works of Fischer von Erlach and Guarini , has a characteristic late Baroque form of a centrally - placed longitudinal oval construction , crowned with an elliptic dome . Until our times it is still a one of crucial landmarks of the city ' s skyline . The other de Witte ' s work placed in Lviv is the palace of Lubomirski family , situated on the Market Square . The rebuilding of previous two merchant town houses into a splendorous Rococo residence , on the request of Stanisław Lubomirski , was commenced in 1763 and lasted until 1767 . De Witte also had drawn the designs for another palace of Lubomirski , placed in the Volhynian town of Równe ( nowadays Rivne , Ukraine ) , which was remodeled according to de Witte ' s project in the years 1765 - 1770 ( the palace was destroyed in 1945 ) . In his architectural career , De Witte tended to favor above all drawing the designs , as he didn ' t engage to much in the actual building process which he preferred to leave in the hands of professional building masters and visited the building sites infrequently , restraining himself to offer necessary directions and detailed drawings only . Stationed at Kamieniec Podolski as an officer of the Corps of Artillery , he also worked on reconstruction and expansion of the old fortress . Among his projects there are the new barracks and the commandants ' residence , dubbed " de Witte ' s Garden " .