Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition towards an invading force, she explained: “We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes 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.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a period when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each assault, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Campaign for History

Despite the violence, a collective 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 originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase similar art nouveau features, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Challenges to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership unconcerned or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Abandonment

One egregious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

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

“It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped 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 original-style 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its broken windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Often we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of war and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its walls.