Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered unusual at a period when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Fight for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Dangers to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Disregard

One egregious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and neglect, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s heart, you must first save its history.