Lesia Danylenko proudly presented her newly installed front door. Local helpers had affectionately dubbed its ornate transom window the “croissant”, a whimsical nod to its bowed shape. “Personally, I believe it’s more of a peacock,” she stated, admiring its branch-like features. The renovation effort at one of Kyiv’s pre-World War I art nouveau houses was supported by residents, who commemorated the work with several neighbourhood pavement parties.
It was also an demonstration of resistance towards a neighboring state, she explained: “Our aim is to live like ordinary people in spite of the war. It’s about arranging our life in the best possible way. We have no fear of staying in our country. I could have left, starting anew to a foreign land. Conversely, I’m here. The new entrance shows our commitment to our homeland.”
“Our aim is to live like normal people in spite of the war. It’s about organizing our life in the best possible way.”
Preserving Kyiv’s architectural heritage could be considered strange at a moment when drone attacks regularly target the capital, bringing death and destruction. Since the start of the current year, aerial raids have been notably increased. After each strike, workers cover blown-out windows with plywood and try, where possible, to secure residential buildings.
Amid the bombs, a group of activists has been attempting to preserve 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 built in 1906 and was initially the home of a wealthy fur dealer. Its facade is embellished with horse chestnut leaves and delicate camomile flowers.
“These buildings represent symbols of Kyiv. These properties are uncommon today,” Danylenko noted. The residence was designed by a designer of Austrian-German origin. Several other buildings nearby exhibit comparable art nouveau characteristics, including an irregular shape – with a medieval spire on one side and a turret on the other. One much-loved house in the area boasts two sullen white stucco cats, as well as owls, masks and a devil.
But armed conflict is only one threat. Preservation campaigners say they face profit-driven developers who demolish listed buildings, corrupt officials and a administrative body indifferent or resistant to the city’s rich architectural history. The harsh winter climate adds another challenge.
“Kyiv is a city where wealth dictates. We don’t have real political will to save our heritage,” said Dmytro Perov, an activist. He alleged the city’s leadership was friends with many of the developers who destroy important houses. Perov further alleged that the concept for the capital harks back to a different time. The mayor rejects these claims, saying they originate from political rivals.
Perov said many of the civically minded activists who once protected older properties were now engaged in combat or had been killed. The lengthy conflict meant that the entire society was facing monetary strain, he added, including judicial figures who inexplicably ruled in favour of questionable new-build schemes. “The longer this persists the more we see degradation of our society and public institutions,” he remarked.
One glaring demolition site 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 attractive brick facade. In the immediate aftermath of the onset of major hostilities, excavators tore it down. Recently, a crane prepared foundations for a new shopping and business centre, watched by a unfriendly 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 stating they were doing “historical excavation”, he said. A 20th-century empire also inflicted immense damage on the capital, reconstructing its central boulevard after the second world war so it could accommodate official processions.
One of Kyiv’s most prominent champions of historic buildings, a cultural activist, was fell in 2022 while serving in a contested area. His colleague Nelli Chudna said she and other volunteers were carrying on his important preservation work. There were at one time 3,500 stone mansions in Kyiv, many constructed for the city’s wealthy entrepreneurs. Only 80 of their authentic doors remain, 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 fail to protect architecture now nothing will be left,” she added. Chudna recently helped to restore a full of character ivy-draped 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 red door and period-correct railings; inside is a vintage sanitary facility and antique mirrors.
“The war could continue for another 20 years. If we neglect architecture now little 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 cherish the past? “Regrettably they are without education and taste. It’s all about business. We are striving as a country to go to the west. But we are still a way off from such cultural awareness,” he said. Soviet-era ways of thinking lingered, with people unwilling to take personal responsibility for their architectural setting, he added.
Some buildings are crumbling because of official neglect. Chudna pointed to a once-magical villa tucked away behind a modern hospital. Its roof had fallen; pigeons made their home among its shattered windows; debris lay under a whimsical tower. “Many times we lose the battle,” she conceded. “This activity is a form of healing for us. We are trying to save all this heritage and aesthetic value.”
In the face of conflict and development pressures, these citizens continue their work, one facade at a time, believing that to save a city’s identity, you must first protect its stones.
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