Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of an invading force, she explained: “We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a moment when drone attacks 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 cover blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been working 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 erected in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase comparable art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Dangers to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Loss and Neglect

One notorious example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of 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, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders 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 crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect 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 operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she conceded. “This activity is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to save a city’s identity, you must first protect its stones.