Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, appreciating its branch-like ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of defiance in the face of an invading force, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of living in our country. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered paradoxical at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each assault, workers seal broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a band 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 historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Threats to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership indifferent or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders 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 carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad 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 authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving 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 remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this history and beauty.”

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