Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, gazing at its branch-like ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance towards a neighboring state, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of staying in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Campaign for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been attempting to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body unconcerned or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted 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 previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Disregard

One egregious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, 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 destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful vine-clad house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first cherish its stones.