Protecting 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 affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a showy bird,” she stated, appreciating its branch-like details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with several impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance towards a neighboring state, she clarified: “We are trying to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”

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

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a moment when missile strikes regularly target the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers board up broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Among the Conflict, a Campaign for Beauty

Despite the violence, a band of activists has been attempting to conserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed 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 quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a turret on the other. One beloved house in the area features two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Dangers to History

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body indifferent or opposed to the city’s rich architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now engaged in combat or had been fallen. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.

Demolition and Neglect

One glaring example of destruction is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a surly security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers levelled old properties while asserting they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also caused immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned defenders of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which functions as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new crimson entrance and original-style railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not value the past? “Sadly they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Resilience in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons nested among its broken windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Often we lose the battle,” she admitted. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”

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