Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, admiring its twig-detailed ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance in the face of a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is 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 remaining in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a period when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers board up broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Battle for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display comparable art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Challenges to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Loss and Abandonment

One glaring demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched 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 destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed 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 at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. 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 vermilion portal and authentic 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 resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first save its history.