Safeguarding the Capital's Architectural Legacy: An Urban Center Reconstructing Its Foundations in the Shadow of War.

Lesia Danylenko beamed with pride as she displayed her recently completed front door. Local helpers had playfully nicknamed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she remarked, appreciating its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who celebrated with several lively pavement parties.

It was also an demonstration of opposition against a foreign power, she elaborated: “We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of staying in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance represents our allegiance to our homeland.”

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

Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy could be considered unusual at a moment when missile strikes routinely fall the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each assault, workers cover broken windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to salvage residential buildings.

Amid the Bombs, a Campaign for History

In the midst of war, a group of activists has been striving 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 originally the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.

“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon in the present day,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by an architect of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby showcase similar art nouveau features, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area boasts two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a demonic figure.

Multiple Threats to Heritage

But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, unethical officials and a administrative body apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate adds another burden.

“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov added that the concept for the capital harks back to a bygone era. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals.

Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once championed older properties were now engaged in combat or had been lost. The ongoing conflict meant that everyone was facing economic hardship, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see deterioration of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.

Loss and Neglect

One notorious demolition site is in the historic Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had pledged to preserve its attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the 2022 invasion, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, watched by a stern security guard.

Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while claiming they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate military vehicles.

Continuing the Work

One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were initially 3,500 masonry mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors are still in existence, she said.

“It wasn’t aerial bombardments that got rid of them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now nothing 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 operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and authentic railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors.

“The war could continue 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 “very cool and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not appreciate the past? “Unfortunately they do not have 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 that standard,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.

Hope in Restoration

Some buildings are crumbling because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had collapsed; pigeons nested among its broken windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she admitted. “Preservation work is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and beauty.”

In the face of conflict and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to save a city’s heart, you must first save its history.