Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance against a neighboring state, she explained: “We strive to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. I could have left, moving away to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear paradoxical at a period when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each assault, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent 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 nearby display similar art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Dangers to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who raze protected buildings, unethical officials and a governing class unconcerned or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared 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 demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime 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 tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting 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 lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to save a city’s heart, you must first protect its walls.