Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance in the face of a foreign power, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, moving away to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Fight for History

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been working to preserve 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 first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion 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 medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Disregard

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not 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 not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and original-style 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 not a thing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she admitted. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this heritage and splendour.”

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