Safeguarding the Capital's Heritage: A City Rebuilding Itself Amidst the Onslaught of War.
Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her recently completed front door. Volunteers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “crescent roll”, a lighthearted tribute to its arched shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a showy bird,” she commented, gazing at its branch-like details. The refurbishment initiative at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who commemorated the work with two lively pavement parties.
It was also an act of defiance against a neighboring state, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the most positive way. We’re not afraid of living in our country. The possibility to emigrate existed, starting anew to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our dedication to our homeland.”
“We are trying to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the most positive way.”
Safeguarding Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered strange at a time when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the onset of the current year, aerial raids have been significantly intensified. After each assault, workers seal shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to save residential buildings.
Within the Bombs, a Fight for Beauty
Amid the bombs, a collective of activists has been working to conserve the city’s decaying mansions, built in a distinctive 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 exterior is decorated with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers.
“These structures stand as symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon nowadays,” Danylenko noted. The building was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display comparable art nouveau elements, including asymmetry – with a gothic tower on one side and a small tower on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a imp.
Multiple Dangers to History
But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who demolish listed buildings, dishonest officials and a administrative body apathetic or opposed to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate imposes another difficulty.
“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He claimed the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the vision for the capital harks back to 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 the entire society was facing financial problems, he added, including judicial figures who mysteriously ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he contended.
Destruction and Abandonment
One notorious location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was lined with classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its picturesque brick facade. A day after the 2022 invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane excavated foundations for a new retail and office development, watched by a unfriendly 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 claiming they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its central boulevard after the second world war so it could allow for official processions.
Upholding the Legacy
One of Kyiv’s most renowned advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was lost his life in 2022 while fighting in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, she said.
“It was not external attacks that destroyed them. It was us,” she said with regret. “The war could last another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character vine-clad 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 vermilion portal and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.
“The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little will be left.”
The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many locals not value the past? “Unfortunately they do not have education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to move towards the west. But we are still some distance away from such cultural awareness,” he said. Previous ways of thinking remained, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their urban environment, he added.
Therapy in Restoration
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 made their home among its broken windows; refuse lay under a whimsical tower. “Frequently we are unsuccessful,” she admitted. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are attempting to save all this heritage and beauty.”
In the face of war and commercial interests, these citizens continue their work, one door at a time, believing that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first save its walls.
