Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, appreciating its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, moving away to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered strange at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Fight for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been working to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display analogous art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Threats to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a governing class unconcerned or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Neglect

One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful 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 red door and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing 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 value the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first protect its walls.