Preserving the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its branch-like details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance against an invading force, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. I could have left, relocating to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy seems paradoxical at a time when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Fight for Beauty

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display comparable art nouveau elements, 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 unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Challenges to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership unconcerned or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks 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 unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom 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 resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she admitted. “This activity is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to save a city’s soul, you must first cherish its walls.