Preserving Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of Conflict.
Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, gazing at its tree limb-inspired details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties.
It was also an demonstration of opposition against a foreign power, she clarified: “We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in Ukraine. I could have left, relocating to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our allegiance to our homeland.”
“We strive to live like everyday people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way.”
Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a moment when aerial assaults frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, offensive operations have been notably increased. After each assault, workers cover shattered windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.
Amid the Explosions, a Battle for Beauty
Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.
“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by showcase analogous art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.
Dual Dangers to History
But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body unconcerned or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.
“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We lack genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.
Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, 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 remarked.
Loss and Neglect
One glaring location of loss is in the historic 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, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored 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 levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades.
Upholding the Legacy
One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell 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 at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.
“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful ivy-draped house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom 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 “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Regrettably they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.
Hope in Preservation
Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this history and aesthetic value.”
In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to save a city’s soul, you must first cherish its history.
