Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with two lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition in the face of a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a period when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Battle for Beauty

Amid the bombs, a collective 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 downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit similar art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Threats to Heritage

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership unconcerned or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Disregard

One egregious 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 pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, watched 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 destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was fell in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance 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 little will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not value the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s heart, you must first cherish its walls.