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

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who celebrated with two neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition against a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of living in our homeland. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems strange at a period when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Battle for History

Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful 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 wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit comparable art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital comes straight out of 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 fighting on the frontline or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Demolition and Abandonment

One egregious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. Shortly following the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. 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 little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, 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 initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique 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 crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first save its history.