Protecting the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against an invading force, she clarified: “We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems paradoxical at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each assault, workers board up broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Campaign for Identity

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to conserve 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 first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display similar art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down protected buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership apathetic or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Disregard

One egregious location of loss 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 charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, 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 large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Regrettably they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and splendour.”

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