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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, admiring its tree limb-inspired details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a foreign power, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in our homeland. I could have left, moving away to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems unusual at a moment when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Battle for History

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by showcase analogous art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Dangers to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class unconcerned or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles 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 last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not appreciate the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first protect its stones.