Preserving Kyiv's Architectural Legacy: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her freshly fitted front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a whimsical nod to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, appreciating its tree limb-inspired details. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an expression of resistance in the face of a neighboring state, she clarified: “We strive to live like normal people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the optimal way. We’re not afraid of living in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Instead, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy may appear strange at a period when drone attacks regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, bombing campaigns have been notably increased. After each assault, workers seal broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.

Within the Bombs, a Battle for History

In the midst of war, a band of activists has been working to save the city’s crumbling 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 wealthy fur dealer. Its exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are increasingly scarce nowadays,” Danylenko said. The residence was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings close by showcase comparable art nouveau elements, 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.

Multiple Dangers to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who raze protected buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s profound architectural history. The harsh winter climate imposes another challenge.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was allied with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once championed older properties were now serving in the military or had been fallen. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of dubious new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see decline of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Loss and Abandonment

One notorious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had committed to preserve its attractive brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, excavators razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new retail and office development, observed by a unfriendly 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 claiming they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A previous regime also wrought immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for large-scale parades.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was lost his life in 2022 while engaged in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his important preservation work. There were originally 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their original doors are still in existence, she said.

“It was not external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now little will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a characterful 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 go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend 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 residents not value 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 some distance away 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 falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she acknowledged. “Preservation work is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and aesthetic value.”

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