Preserving Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, appreciating its branch-like features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance against a foreign power, she explained: “We are trying to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered unusual at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Battle for Identity

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been attempting to save the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Neglect

One glaring location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little 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 are without 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 that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of war and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first save its history.