Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, gazing at its branch-like ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance towards an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered paradoxical at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for History

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been striving to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have genuine 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 destroy important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One glaring location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered 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 original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to save a city’s heart, you must first protect its stones.