Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, gazing at its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who commemorated the work with a couple of lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she explained: “We are trying to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of staying in our country. I could have left, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered unusual at a time when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been significantly intensified. After each strike, workers board up broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Explosions, a Battle for History

Amid the bombs, a band 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 central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby display similar art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Dual Challenges to Legacy

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing 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 bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he argued.

Destruction and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction 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 charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, excavators demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed 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 destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles 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 tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Preservation

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she admitted. “This activity is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this history and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, stating that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first protect its walls.