Safeguarding Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her newly installed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance towards an invading force, she clarified: “We are trying to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. Fear does not drive us of staying in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, starting anew to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a time when aerial assaults regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers board up blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been striving to save the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by display analogous art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down listed buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or opposed to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We are missing genuine political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The protracted 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 continues the more we see deterioration of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.

Demolition and Disregard

One notorious demolition site is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, watched 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 levelled 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 accommodate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful creeper-covered 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 red door and period-correct 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 tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Regrettably 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 a way off from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Preservation

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is therapy for us. We are trying to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and development pressures, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to save a city’s heart, you must first save its stones.