Preserving Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Itself in the Shadow of Conflict.
Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a playful reference to its curved shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she commented, appreciating its twig-detailed details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties.
It was also an demonstration of opposition against a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our homeland. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our dedication to our homeland.”
“Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.”
Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage seems unusual at a moment when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each attack, workers seal broken windows with plywood and try, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.
Amid the Explosions, a Campaign for Identity
Despite the violence, a band of activists has been attempting 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 initially the home of a affluent fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.
“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by display comparable art nouveau elements, including an irregular shape – with a gothic tower on one side and a projection on the other. One much-loved house in the area features two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.
Dual Challenges to Legacy
But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a political leadership unconcerned or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate imposes another difficulty.
“Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a bygone era. The mayor denies these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.
Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once protected older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens 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 continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he remarked.
Destruction and Abandonment
One egregious location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a surly security guard.
Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was not much hope for the remaining blue-green houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A former political system also wrought immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate official processions.
Continuing the Work
One of Kyiv’s most notable champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s wealthy business magnates. Only 80 of their period doors are still in existence, she said.
“It wasn’t foreign rockets that eliminated them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad 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 vermilion portal and authentic railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.
“The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing 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 appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they are without 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 that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.
Therapy in Action
Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”
In the face of war and development pressures, these volunteers continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to save a city’s soul, you must first cherish its walls.
