Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her recently completed front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, admiring its twig-detailed ornamentation. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who celebrated with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an act of opposition towards a foreign power, she explained: “We are trying to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our homeland. I had the option to depart, moving away to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We strive to live like ordinary people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings may appear unusual at a period when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each assault, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight for Identity

Despite the violence, a group of activists has been working to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity showcase similar art nouveau characteristics, including asymmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Challenges to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish historically significant buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class unconcerned or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have 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 flatten important houses. Perov further alleged that the plan for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. 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 killed. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see decline of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Demolition and Neglect

One glaring location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a unfriendly 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 stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while engaged in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his vital preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly 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 some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s soul, you must first save its history.