Preserving the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance against a foreign power, she elaborated: “We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, relocating to Italy. 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.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear strange at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Battle for History

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been working to save the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area displays 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 unscrupulous developers who raze protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital comes straight out of 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 engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered 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 authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

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