Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.
Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.
It was also an demonstration of defiance towards a neighboring state, she explained: “We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”
“We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.”
Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear paradoxical at a moment when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each assault, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.
Amid the Conflict, a Fight for Beauty
Despite the violence, a collective 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 central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.
“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit analogous art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.
Dual Challenges to Legacy
But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership unconcerned or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another burden.
“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.
Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone 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 state bodies,” he remarked.
Destruction and Disregard
One glaring example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a unfriendly security guard.
Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.
Continuing the Work
One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.
“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “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 characterful vine-clad house built in 1910, which serves 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 vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.
“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”
The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not appreciate the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, 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 showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”
In the face of war and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s identity, you must first protect its stones.
