Protecting the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition against an invading force, she clarified: “We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear unusual at a moment when drone attacks regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Campaign for Beauty

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical 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 affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display analogous art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Challenges to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish protected buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body apathetic or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We are missing genuine 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 destroy important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor denies 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 lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Neglect

One egregious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. 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 vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first protect its history.