Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance against a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of remaining in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, moving away to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each attack, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see decline of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Abandonment

One glaring location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous business magnates. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful vine-clad 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 red door and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect 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 locals not value the past? “Sadly they lack 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 civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Frequently we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this history and beauty.”

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