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

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance in the face of a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of staying in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear paradoxical at a moment when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each strike, workers board up broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Bombs, a Fight for Beauty

Despite the violence, a collective of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the central Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was first the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase analogous art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Multiple Dangers to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze protected buildings, dishonest officials and a political leadership apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov added that the vision 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 championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing economic hardship, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Destruction and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction 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 picturesque brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the full-scale invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. 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 little optimism for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, 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 originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. 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 original-style railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue 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 appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are collapsing because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this past and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one building at a time, arguing that to save a city’s soul, you must first cherish its stones.