Protecting the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “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 living in our country. I could have left, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered paradoxical at a time when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for Identity

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce today,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display analogous art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Dual Challenges to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who raze historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents 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 mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Neglect

One egregious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted 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 main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered 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 original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they lack 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 such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, arguing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first cherish its stones.