Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, gazing at its tree limb-inspired details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition towards an invading force, she elaborated: “We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered unusual at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each assault, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Fight for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been working to preserve 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 erected in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit comparable art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Dangers to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One egregious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique 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 red door and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom 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 tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value 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 a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this history and beauty.”

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