Preserving 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. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its elegant transom window the “pastry”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she commented, admiring its tree limb-inspired details. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with two impromptu pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of a neighboring state, she clarified: “We strive to live like everyday people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of living in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, relocating to a foreign land. 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 organizing our life in the most positive way.”

Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered unusual at a time when missile strikes regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the beginning of the current year, bombing campaigns have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers cover broken windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Explosions, a Fight for History

In the midst of war, a collective of activists has been striving to conserve the city’s crumbling mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was erected in 1906 and was originally the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its outer walls is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.

“They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau elements, including a lack of symmetry – 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 demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unprincipled developers who knock down listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s profound architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where money wins. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the plan for the capital is reminiscent of a previous decade. 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 lost. The ongoing conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and state bodies,” he contended.

Demolition and Disregard

One egregious demolition site is in the riverside 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, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new retail and office development, monitored by a surly 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 “scientific study”, he said. A former political system also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could facilitate large-scale parades.

Upholding the Legacy

One of Kyiv’s most renowned champions of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were persevering in his crucial preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said.

“It was not foreign rockets that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique ivy-draped house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and doubles as a film set and museum. The property has a new vermilion portal and period-correct 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 tenant, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to move towards the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people reluctant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.

Hope in Action

Some buildings are crumbling because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she acknowledged. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are striving to save all this history and splendour.”

In the face of conflict and neglect, these activists continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to save a city’s identity, you must first cherish its history.