The Grodzka Gate, often called The Jewish Gate, is one of first stone-built elements of the city's fortifications built in 1342 after the permission of king Kazimierz the Great. Originally, it was about 12 meters high, of rectangular plan, one-dimensional, not arched, with openings in the shape of pointed arch. Above the gate's passageway there was a city guards' room. In 1560s the gatepost was added, which facilitated the use of a wooden drawbridge leading to the Castle. In 1580s the Gate's passageway was arched, and then covered with shingled roof. At the beginning of the 17th century, undermined by water, a piece of the wall and doorframe was destroyed. The Gate was then rebuilt into a two-storey building, with a parallel to the passageway, gabled roof. On the south-east side, a gatekeeper's house was attached to it, later rebuilt and used as city stables. Its appearance is known, among others, in from the picture hanging in the Dominicans church „The fire of Lublin in 1719” painted about 1740.At the end of the 18th century the Good Order Committee in Lublin asked king Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski to finance the overhaul of the building. The performing of this task was assigned to Dominik Merlini. In 1785 Merlini changed the Gates shape: he levelled the gatepost with the gatehouse and covered them with one gabled roof, rebuilt the ground storey, where he placed four open to passageway shops. On the first storey, he designed one big room at the front and one small room at the back, separated by a hall and a kitchen.