Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, gazing at its branch-like ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance in the face of an invading force, she explained: “We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of living in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy seems unusual at a time when missile strikes regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each assault, workers cover broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Battle for History

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been attempting 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 affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by showcase comparable art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Threats to Heritage

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

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry 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 aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped 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 vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing 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 cherish the past? “Regrettably they lack 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 that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first save its history.