Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its elegant transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, admiring its tree limb-inspired features. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition against a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like everyday people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the optimal way. We have no fear of staying in our homeland. I had the option to depart, relocating to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers board up broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Conflict, a Fight for Identity

Amid the bombs, a band 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 historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko stated. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit similar art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One popular house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Several Dangers to History

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down protected buildings, unethical officials and a governing class indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We are missing real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably 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 contended.

Destruction and Disregard

One egregious example of destruction is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, 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 levelled old properties while claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character 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 authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing 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 value the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking remained, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are collapsing because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna indicated 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. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are attempting to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of war and neglect, these activists continue their work, one building at a time, believing that to save a city’s identity, you must first protect its history.