Protecting the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “I think it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with several neighbourhood pavement parties.

It was also an expression of opposition in the face of a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of living in Ukraine. I could have left, moving away to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s historic buildings could be considered unusual at a moment when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been attempting to save the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase comparable art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Several Threats to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who demolish protected buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was closely associated with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor denies these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Destruction and Abandonment

One glaring location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had committed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery tore it down. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its primary street after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not cherish the past? “Regrettably they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still not yet close from that standard,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Therapy in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons made their home among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

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