Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, gazing at its tree limb-inspired features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition towards a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear unusual at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Challenges to Heritage

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

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come 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 killed. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Neglect

One egregious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored 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 “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable 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 originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of 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 unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first save its stones.