Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, admiring its branch-like features. 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 lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition towards an invading force, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. I had the option to depart, relocating to a foreign land. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear strange at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Battle for Identity

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby display comparable art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Dangers to Legacy

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic 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 alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Neglect

One notorious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a stern security guard.

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

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Sadly they lack 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 that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of war and neglect, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to save a city’s heart, you must first save its walls.