Preserving the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. I had the option to depart, moving away to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems strange at a period when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase comparable art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Dangers to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down protected buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably 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 Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions 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 carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect 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 residents not value the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first save its stones.