Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, admiring its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance towards a neighboring state, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a time when missile strikes regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers cover broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Fight for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit similar art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Challenges to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, 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 decline of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Abandonment

One glaring demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique 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 vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we don’t win,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to save a city’s soul, you must first protect its walls.