Preserving the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, admiring its twig-detailed ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy may appear unusual at a moment when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Battle for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to save the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful 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 affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase analogous art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Dangers to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have real 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 destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come 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 fallen. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial 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 remain, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “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 functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to save a city’s soul, you must first protect its stones.