In 1920, fierce battles between Polish and Soviet troops took place on the outskirts of Lwów, which went down in history as the Battle of Lwów. This struggle played a major role in the Polish-Soviet war, helping to weaken the Bolshevik attack on Warsaw. According to tradition, the first Soviet shell fell on Upper Lychakiv. Several years later, it was decided to commemorate these events and to fund a votive shrine at the site. The construction was initiated by the then Metropolitan Archbishop of Lwow, Bolesław Twardowski.

Construction of the votive church in Lviv
The site for the church was consecrated on the tenth anniversary of the restoration of independence - 11 November 1928. In 1930 an architectural competition for the design of the church was held, the winner of which was the eminent Cracovian neo-classicist, Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz. In the end, however, the detailed design was entrusted to another contestant, the Lvov architect Tadeusz Obmiński.

However, Obmiński died the following year (1932), and so the management of the works was entrusted to another outstanding representative of the Lvov design community, Wawrzyniec Dajczak, who introduced certain corrections to the original plans. Implementation work progressed rapidly (shortfalls in funds were made up by taking out several loans). As a result, the church was consecrated as early as October 1934. The relics of St Stanislaus and St Josaphat were then placed in the main altar.

Establishment of the parish of Our Lady of the Dawn Gate
The new church stood opposite Pohulanka Park, on a small elevation, making it an important part of the perspective of Lychakivska Street. A large square was planned in front of the church, intended for the participation in church ceremonies of the 14th Cavalry Regiment, stationed in the nearby barracks. The organisation of the parish was entrusted to the Salesians, traditionally concerned with the care of young people from poor and neglected families. Therefore, the organisation of an educational establishment was planned together with the construction of the church.

Architecture of the Votive Church in Lviv
. The form of the church betrays inspiration from early Christian architecture. This is evidenced by the basilica-like disposition of the body, the eastern orientation, the presbytery closed with a semicircular apse, and finally the austere silhouette of the façade, devoid of elaborate detail, reflecting the internal layout of the church. The interior is single-nave, but the deep side chapels, located in the arcades, give the impression of a basilica layout. The free-standing, tall bell-tower with a glorietta on top is also indicative of Italian design. The temple is also characterised by modernist simplicity and geometric rigour.

Work on the artistic decoration of the façade and interior was carried out in parallel with the construction work. An edicula was placed in the façade at first-floor level to provide an architectural setting for the mosaic image of Our Lady of the Dawn Gate, created by the Krakow Jesuit artist Wojciech Pieczonka. Above the edicule was a relief by the Lvov sculptor Janina Reichert-Toth, depicting two angels with the inscription 'Maria' and a gilded coat of arms.

The interior of the church includes a marble pulpit and confessionals designed by Dajczak and an altar with an icon of John Bosco, the patron saint of the Salesians. The author of the icon, Lviv-based painter Regina Szyrajew, used a motif from the Romanesque foundation tympanums: here, Archbishop Twardowski hands the saint a model of the church.

Church of Our Lady of the Dawn Gate at the time
. In 1938 Alexander Medinsky wrote about the church: "A votive church of Our Lady of the Dawn Gate stood in a beautiful, picturesque location in the upper Lychakiv district. It stands on a rather steep hill with a slight incline on one side towards Lychakivska Street and on the other towards the road leading to the nearby Lychakiv railway station. The view of the church is beautiful, especially when seen from the north, where the contours of the monumental building are magnificent against the background of the lush greenery of the nearby park on the opposite side. Thus the temple towers over the whole area, and its slender tower, like a religious-national bastion of Lviv's spiritual fortifications, is visible among the hills for many kilometres to the east, when the gaze from the windows of a carriage, coming from the east towards Lviv, falls on its landscape and immediately catches sight of the tall, soaring campanile" (A. Medynskyi, Church of Our Lady of the Dawn Gate in Lychakiv, Lviv, 1938).

Salesian educational institution
The construction of the Salesian Educational Institution according to a project by Julian Duchowicz was undertaken in 1938, but the project could not be completed due to the outbreak of the Second World War. In September 1939, the church was shelled by Red Army soldiers and two years later hit by a German aerial bomb. After the war, the Salesians left in 1946 and the Soviet authorities used the church as a paper warehouse, destroying the interior furnishings in the process. The sculptural decoration of the façade was also removed. It was not until 1992 that the church was restored, this time as the Greek-Catholic Church of the Protection of the Mother of God.
The exterior of the church has been preserved in good condition, but the interior has undergone some transformations due to the change in rites. The new interior was designed by Roman Vasiluk, professor of the Lviv Academy of Arts.