Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear unusual at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers cover broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Campaign for Identity

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body unconcerned or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One egregious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience 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 caved in; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to save a city’s soul, you must first save its history.