Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance against an invading force, she explained: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of remaining in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, starting anew to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Campaign for Beauty

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been working to preserve the city’s decaying 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 first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Challenges to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have genuine 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 flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The lengthy 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 degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Abandonment

One notorious example of destruction 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. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful 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 vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom 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 tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Often we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first save its stones.