🔗 Share this article Protecting the Capital's Heritage: A City Reconstructing Itself Amidst the Onslaught of Conflict. Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, admiring its branch-like ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties. It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of an invading force, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.” “We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.” Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a period when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings. Within the Conflict, a Campaign for History In the midst of war, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling 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 first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers. “These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil. Several Dangers to Legacy But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another difficulty. “Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended. Destruction and Abandonment One notorious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a stern security guard. Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles. Carrying the Torch One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said. “It wasn’t external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.” The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added. Hope in Restoration Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and aesthetic value.” In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to save a city’s heart, you must first cherish its walls.
Lesia Danylenko showed off with satisfaction her newly installed front door. The restoration team had given the moniker its ornate transom window the “pastry”, a playful reference to its bowed shape. “In my opinion it’s more of a peafowl,” she stated, admiring its branch-like ornamentation. The restoration project at one of Kyiv’s turn-of-the-century art nouveau houses was made possible by residents, who marked the occasion with several lively pavement parties. It was also an demonstration of resistance in the face of an invading force, she elaborated: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people regardless of the war. It’s about shaping our life in the optimal way. Fear does not drive us of living in Ukraine. I had the option to depart, moving away to another European nation. On the contrary, I’m here. The new entrance represents our dedication to our homeland.” “We strive to live like normal people despite the war. It’s about shaping our life in the best possible way.” Preserving Kyiv’s historic buildings seems paradoxical at a period when drone attacks frequently hit the capital, causing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, bombing campaigns have been significantly intensified. After each attack, workers board up shattered windows with plywood and endeavor, where possible, to secure residential buildings. Within the Conflict, a Campaign for History In the midst of war, a band of activists has been working to conserve the city’s crumbling 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 first the home of a prosperous fur dealer. Its outer walls is adorned with horse chestnut leaves and intricate camomile flowers. “These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko said. The mansion was designed by a designer of Central European origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including a lack of symmetry – with a pointed turret on one side and a turret on the other. One popular house in the area displays two forlorn white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil. Several Dangers to Legacy But military aggression is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face unscrupulous developers who knock down historically significant buildings, corrupt officials and a governing class apathetic or hostile to the city’s vast architectural history. The bitter winter climate adds another difficulty. “Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We lack substantive political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s mayor was friends with many of the developers who flatten important houses. Perov stated that the concept for the capital comes straight out of a bygone era. The mayor rejects these claims, attributing them from political rivals. Perov said many of the public-spirited activists who once protected older properties were now serving in the military or had been lost. The protracted conflict meant that everyone was facing monetary strain, he added, including those in the legal system who mysteriously ruled in favour of suspect new-build schemes. “The longer this continues the more we see degradation of our society and governing institutions,” he contended. Destruction and Abandonment One notorious location of loss is in the riverside Podil neighbourhood. The street was the site of classical 19th-century houses. A developer who purchased the plot had agreed to preserve its charming brick facade. A day after the onset of major hostilities, diggers razed it to the ground. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new commercial complex, observed by a stern security guard. Anatolii Pohorily, a heritage supporter, said there was little optimism for the remaining coloured houses on the site. Sometimes developers demolished old properties while asserting they were doing “archaeological research”, he said. A 20th-century empire also caused immense damage on the capital, rebuilding its main thoroughfare after the second world war so it could allow for military vehicles. Carrying the Torch One of Kyiv’s most notable advocates of historic buildings, a tour guide and blogger, was fell in 2022 while fighting in the frontline. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were continuing his vital preservation work. There were originally 3,500 brick-built mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their period doors survived, she said. “It wasn’t external attacks that got rid of them. It was us,” she lamented. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we fail to protect architecture now little will be left,” she continued. Chudna recently helped to restore a unique vine-clad house built in 1910, which acts as the headquarters of her cultural organization and operates as a film set and museum. The property has a new red door and original-style railings; inside is a historic washroom and antique mirrors. “The war could go on for another 20 years. If we don’t defend architecture now not a thing will be left.” The building’s resident, artist Yurii Pikul, described his home as “quite special and a little bit cold”. Why do many citizens not cherish the past? “Sadly they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are trying as a country to go to the west. But we are still not yet close from such cultural awareness,” he said. Outdated ways of thinking lingered, with people hesitant to take personal responsibility for their built surroundings, he added. Hope in Restoration Some buildings are collapsing because of institutional abandonment. Chudna indicated a once-magical villa concealed behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons roosted among its broken windows; refuse lay under a fairytale tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she admitted. “Preservation work is therapy for us. We are striving to save all this past and aesthetic value.” In the face of destruction and neglect, these volunteers continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to save a city’s heart, you must first cherish its walls.