🔗 Share this article Protecting Kyiv's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Its Foundations Under the Threat of War. Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, admiring its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties. It was also an expression of defiance against a foreign power, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.” “We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.” Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear strange at a moment when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in 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 attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings. Within the Conflict, a Battle for History Despite the violence, a group of activists has been attempting to save 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 built in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers. “They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display comparable art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil. Several Threats to History But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another difficulty. “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 allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued. Destruction and Abandonment One glaring location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched 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 destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades. Continuing the Work One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said. “It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. 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 red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect 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 citizens not appreciate the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added. Hope in Action Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.” In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first protect its walls.
Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. Local helpers had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a showy bird,” she remarked, admiring its twig-detailed features. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s early 20th-century art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who marked the occasion with a couple of neighbourhood pavement parties. It was also an expression of defiance against a foreign power, she explained: “We strive to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way. We’re not afraid of remaining in our homeland. The possibility to emigrate existed, relocating to Italy. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance symbolizes our allegiance to our homeland.” “We strive to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the most positive way.” Preserving Kyiv’s built legacy may appear strange at a moment when missile strikes frequently hit the capital, resulting in 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 attempt, where possible, to save residential buildings. Within the Conflict, a Battle for History Despite the violence, a group of activists has been attempting to save 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 built in 1906 and was first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its exterior is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and fine camomile flowers. “They are symbols of Kyiv. These properties are quite rare in the present day,” Danylenko stated. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings in the vicinity display comparable art nouveau features, including an irregular shape – with a pointed turret on one side and a small tower on the other. One beloved house in the area displays two unhappy white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil. Several Threats to History But external attacks is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or resistant to the city’s vast architectural history. The severe winter climate presents another difficulty. “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 allied with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov stated that the plan for the capital harks back to a previous decade. The mayor has refuted these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once defended older properties were now serving in the military or had been killed. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing financial problems, he added, including those in the legal system who curiously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he argued. Destruction and Abandonment One glaring location of loss is in the waterside Podil neighbourhood. The street was home to classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had pledged to preserve its charming brick facade. Shortly following the full-scale invasion, diggers demolished it. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched 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 destroyed old properties while stating they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A previous regime also inflicted immense damage on the capital, redesigning its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could accommodate large-scale parades. Continuing the Work One of Kyiv’s most notable defenders of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while fighting in a eastern city. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his crucial preservation work. There were initially 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many built for the city’s successful industrialists. Only 80 of their original doors remain, she said. “It was not external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she admitted sadly. “The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now not a thing will be left,” she added. 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 red door and period-correct railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors. “The war could last another 20 years. If we neglect 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 citizens not appreciate the past? “Regrettably they lack education and taste. It’s all about business. We are attempting as a country to integrate with the west. But we are still a way off from civilization,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added. Hope in Action Some buildings are falling apart because of bureaucratic indifference. Chudna showed a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had caved in; pigeons roosted among its smashed windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we don’t win,” she conceded. “Restoration is a coping mechanism for us. We are trying to save all this past and splendour.” In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one building at a time, stating that to rebuild a city’s heart, you must first protect its walls.