Preserving the Capital's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations Under the Threat of War.

Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her freshly fitted front door. Volunteers had playfully nicknamed its graceful transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, appreciating its branch-like features. 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 a couple of impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of defiance against a neighboring state, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of living in Ukraine. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”

“Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way.”

Protecting Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a moment when drone attacks routinely fall the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Among the Explosions, a Fight for History

Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been striving to preserve the city’s deteriorating mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the historic Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers.

“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko stated. The mansion was designed by an architect of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a projection on the other. One beloved house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.

Dual Dangers to History

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven 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 imposes another difficulty.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the vision for the capital is reminiscent of a different time. The mayor rejects 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 protracted conflict meant that the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see deterioration of our society and governing institutions,” he remarked.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers razed it to the ground. 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 coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while engaged in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many erected for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t foreign rockets that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad house built in 1910, which serves as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

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

The building’s tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not cherish the past? “Regrettably they are without 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 persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Therapy in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa hidden behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its shattered windows; rubbish lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she admitted. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of destruction and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to preserve a city’s soul, you must first protect its stones.