Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, admiring its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of an invading force, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear strange at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been striving to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase analogous art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Threats to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Abandonment

One notorious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Unfortunately 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 unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she admitted. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.