Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its branch-like features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems paradoxical at a period when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight for History

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been attempting to conserve 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 built in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display similar art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – 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 devil.

Several Dangers to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership apathetic or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Disregard

One glaring demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

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