Preserving the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, gazing at its branch-like features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance towards a foreign power, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our country. I could have left, relocating to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered strange at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers seal broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Battle for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been striving to save the city’s decaying 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 initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two unhappy 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 unprincipled developers who demolish listed buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Destruction and Abandonment

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, observed 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 demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “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 ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves 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 don’t defend architecture now little will be left.”

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

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a storybook tower. “Often we don’t win,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first protect its stones.