Preserving Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition against a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems unusual at a time when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers cover broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Battle for Identity

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a playful 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 exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase similar art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Multiple Challenges to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze listed buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed 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 rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Demolition and Disregard

One glaring example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, diggers tore it down. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a unfriendly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “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 full of character creeper-covered 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 continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

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