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

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance in the face of an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our country. I had the option to depart, moving away to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a time when drone attacks regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic 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 delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit similar art nouveau features, 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 sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Challenges to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish protected buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another challenge.

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

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

Demolition and Abandonment

One glaring example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, observed 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 stating 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 facilitate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing 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? “Unfortunately they are without 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 such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.