Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, admiring its branch-like details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance against a foreign power, she explained: “We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of remaining in Ukraine. I could have left, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered paradoxical at a period when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been working to conserve 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 facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display similar art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret 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 imp.

Several Threats to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Neglect

One notorious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched 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 claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect 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 residents not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

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 roosted among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first protect its walls.