Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, admiring its twig-detailed ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of living in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a time when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers cover broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase comparable 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 features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Threats to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Regrettably 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 not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of conflict 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 walls.