Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, appreciating its branch-like details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Fight for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display similar art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze protected buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership indifferent or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens 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 decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery tore it down. 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 little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility 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 occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Regrettably they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its walls.