Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, admiring its tree limb-inspired details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition against an invading force, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of remaining in our homeland. I had the option to depart, starting anew to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a time when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Campaign for Beauty

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been striving to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Dangers to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership apathetic or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “This activity is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first cherish its history.