Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a lighthearted tribute to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, gazing at its branch-like features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of resistance towards a foreign power, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in our country. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a period when missile strikes regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been striving 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 built in 1906 and was first the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Dangers to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body indifferent or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We are missing genuine 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 bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Demolition and Abandonment

One egregious example of destruction is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to 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, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates 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 vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors remain, she said.

“It was not external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing 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 vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are falling apart because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we don’t win,” she acknowledged. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this past and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first save its stones.