🔗 Share this article Preserving Kyiv's Heritage: An Urban Center Rebuilding Its Foundations in the Shadow of Conflict. Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed features. The refurbishment initiative 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 opposition in the face of a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. I could have left, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.” “We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.” Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a moment when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings. Among the Bombs, a Fight for History Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers. “These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil. Dual Challenges to Heritage But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish listed buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another challenge. “Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he remarked. Demolition and Abandonment One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a surly security guard. Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions. Carrying the Torch One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said. “It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves 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 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 “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added. Therapy in Preservation Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.” In the face of war and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first cherish its walls.
Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a whimsical nod to its curved shape. “I think it’s more of a peafowl,” she remarked, gazing at its twig-detailed features. The refurbishment initiative 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 opposition in the face of a foreign power, she clarified: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our country. I could have left, relocating to Italy. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our commitment to our homeland.” “We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way.” Safeguarding Kyiv’s built legacy seems strange at a moment when aerial assaults routinely fall the capital, resulting in death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been dramatically stepped up. After each strike, workers seal blown-out windows with plywood and attempt, where possible, to secure residential buildings. Among the Bombs, a Fight for History Amid the bombs, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a whimsical style known as Ukrainian modernism. Danylenko’s house is in the downtown Shevchenkivskyi district. It was constructed in 1906 and was initially the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers. “These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare today,” Danylenko noted. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity exhibit analogous art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a small tower on the other. One popular house in the area features two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil. Dual Challenges to Heritage But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish listed buildings, dishonest officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate presents another challenge. “Kyiv is a city where capital prevails. We don’t have substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He asserted the city’s mayor was allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a previous decade. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the community-oriented activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The lengthy conflict meant that all citizens was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who curiously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this goes on the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he remarked. Demolition and Abandonment One notorious demolition site is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who obtained the plot had agreed to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, heavy machinery demolished it. Recently, a crane dug foundations for a new shopping and business centre, observed by a surly security guard. Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was faint chance for the remaining turquoise-painted houses on the site. Sometimes developers destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “scientific study”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions. Carrying the Torch One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a heritage expert, was killed in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s prosperous industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors survived, she said. “It was not external attacks that eliminated them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she emphasized. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique creeper-covered house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and also serves 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 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 “incredibly atmospheric and a little bit cold”. Why do many residents not appreciate the past? “Sadly they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Previous ways of thinking persisted, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added. Therapy in Preservation Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; refuse lay under a storybook tower. “Many times we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “Restoration is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.” In the face of war and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, arguing that to rebuild a city’s identity, you must first cherish its walls.