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

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, admiring its branch-like ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our country. I could have left, starting anew to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Campaign for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Demolition and Abandonment

One egregious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, 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 demolished old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character creeper-covered house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this past and beauty.”

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