Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance against a neighboring state, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Battle for Beauty

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been striving to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic 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 intricate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to History

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

“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 friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital comes straight out 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 engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One egregious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original 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 emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad 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 period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special 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 striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.