Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition towards a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our country. I had the option to depart, moving away to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered strange at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Battle for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase similar art nouveau characteristics, 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 demonic figure.

Several Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Neglect

One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched 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 wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, 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 built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique 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 crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first cherish its walls.