Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Itself in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its graceful transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, gazing at its branch-like ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance against a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of staying in our homeland. I could have left, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our commitment to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy seems paradoxical at a time when drone attacks regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each assault, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Within the Conflict, a Fight for Beauty

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been attempting to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic 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 intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Challenges to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a governing class unconcerned or hostile to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents 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 mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Disregard

One glaring location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was killed in 2022 while engaged 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 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered 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 vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; debris lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are striving to save all this history and beauty.”

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