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

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition towards a neighboring state, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of remaining in our homeland. I could have left, relocating 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 everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear paradoxical at a period when missile strikes regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Campaign for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit similar art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Dangers to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down protected buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership apathetic or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack substantive 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 further alleged that the vision for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Disregard

One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts 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 go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, 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 indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first save its history.