Protecting Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her freshly fitted front door. The restoration team had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, gazing at its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was funded through residents, who marked the occasion with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an expression of defiance towards a neighboring state, she elaborated: “We are trying to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way. We have no fear of staying in our homeland. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.”

“We are trying to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage may appear unusual at a time when missile strikes regularly target the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been attempting to save the city’s decaying mansions, built in a playful style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was built in 1906 and was originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its facade is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings close by exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.

Several Threats to Legacy

But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze listed buildings, corrupt officials and a political leadership indifferent or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The harsh winter climate presents 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 leadership was allied with many of the developers who bulldoze important houses. Perov further alleged that the vision for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, stating they come from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now fighting on the frontline or had been fallen. The protracted conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, 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 decline of our society and governing institutions,” he argued.

Loss and Abandonment

One glaring location of loss is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who acquired the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, monitored by a unfriendly 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 stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its primary street after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.

Carrying the Torch

One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while serving in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors survived, she said.

“It wasn’t external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now nothing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered 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 crimson entrance and period-correct railings; inside is a period bathroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left.”

The building’s occupant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying 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 unwilling to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added.

Resilience in Action

Some buildings are falling apart because of official neglect. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons nested among its smashed windows; rubbish lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are attempting to save all this past and aesthetic value.”

In the face of war and neglect, these citizens continue their work, one facade at a time, stating that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its stones.