7. Preservation and Protection of Historical and Cultural Heritage

Condition, problematic issues and key directions to preserve immovable cultural heritage

Kyiv is on the List of historical settled areas of Ukraine, as approved by directive of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 878 dated July 26, 2001. Kyiv immovable cultural heritage comprises the widest chronological, typological and specific range of V-XX centuries artefacts. General fund of historical buildings reaches 10 thousand objects. The city has 2569 immovable cultural heritage sites registered on its territory. The state record includes 719 architectural and urban development significant sites (390 of them are of national importance); 308 signs of monumental art (11 of them are of national importance); 1484 historic landmarks (26 of them are of national importance); 58 sites of archaeology (20 of them are national importance), as well as about 1700 newly discovered cultural heritage sites.

Two landmarks complexes – Saint Sophia Cathedral with supporting monastery structures and ensemble of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra are inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Based on complexes of heritage sites 6 preserves and 2 historical and architectural museums were made, namely: National preserve Sophia of Kyiv, National Kyiv Pechersk historic-cultural preserve, State historic-cultural preserve Ancient Kyiv, State historic-memorial Lukyanivka Cemetery, National preserve Babyi Yar, National historic-memorial reserve Bykivnia Graves, as well as National museum Kyiv Fortress, National museum of folk architecture and life of Ukraine.

All these areas of immovable cultural heritage with separate architectural and urban planning landmarks, significant signs of history, archeology, monumental and garden art, landscape, along with irreplaceable Kyiv views form traditional nature of Kyiv environment and create historical areas in town.

The major part of landmarks of national importance and those landmarks of municipal importance, being components of reserves and museums are in good and satisfactory technical condition. Nearly 50% landmarks of municipal importance and newly discovered heritage objects are in low technical condition, and about 5% are in critical condition.

Cultural heritage sites of Kyiv are objects of all the ownership types, stipulated by applicable laws: state, public, personal. The most problematic are landmarks of personal ownership, which are not being utilized and not maintained in appropriate technical condition due to owners’ (investors’) prospective intentions to have construction on land plots that will get spare upon demolition of landmarks in alert condition.

The other problematic group consists of monumental buildings, where separate premises or premises groups are in the ownership of different entities, which disables coordinated carrying out of preventive, conservation and repair-restoring works on landmarks of the environment and devaluates specific monuments, destroying their appropriate compositional influence.

Scheme Frontiers of protection zones and historic areas

Primary directions of conservation and protection of cultural heritage and historic buildings:

  • development of historic-architectural master plan of the town with specification of conservation zones, borders and manner of usage of historic areas territories;
  • conservation of historic landscape, immovable cultural heritage and traditional character of Kyiv environment;
  • restoration and recovery of landmarks, restoration of façades of historic buildings;
  • timely notifying UNESCO of scheduled architectural transformations of buff er zones of Saint Sophia Cathedral with ancillary monastery facilities and Kyiv Pechersk Lavra ensemble;
  • environment protection in the zones of protected landscaped, conservation and reconstruction of its valuable natural features; visual neutralization of buildings, facilities disfigurating such landscape;
  • prohibition to erect building of excessive number of floors, and high-storeyed buildings on the territories of reserves, buffer and protection zones;
  • ensuring archeological research and museumfi cation of explored ancient buildings and facilities on the territories of archeological landmarks and within borders of their protection zones;
  • detection and correction of violations in mode of preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites and objects.

    The historic-architectural master plan of the town will:

  • specify historic areas and determine protection zones;

  • study stages of historical and urban planning development of Kyiv;
  • provide analysis of the landscape, specifying peculiarity of planning and space arrangement of Kyiv;
  • provide analysis of cultural heritage sites: of landscape, archeology, history and monumental art, architecture and urban planning, garden art, science and technology;
  • analyze architectural and space composition and landscape structure of historical centre, its environment and zoning;
  • provide composite estimation of Kyiv cultural heritage that demonstrates peculiar features and value of accumulation of cultural heritage sites, etc.

    Historic areas. The city’s historic areas are specified. Frontiers of Central and Southern historical areas are adjusted pursuant to presence of historical heritage landmarks. New Dorogozhytskyi historical area is made. Frontiers of State historic-memorial reserve Lukyanivka Cemetery, National preserve Babi Yar, historic landmark of national importance – Lesya Ukrainka national Academic Theater of Russian Drama, Museum of folk architecture and life of Ukraine in Golosiivskyi district (village of Pyrohiv), significant sign of garden and park art of national importance Feofaniya, are determined.

    Utilization mode for Kyiv landmarks, reserves, sites and historic areas territories is set by UNESCO (National Kyiv Pechersk historic-cultural reserve and ensemble of buildings of Saint Sophia’s Cathedral), executive body in cultural heritage protection.

    National Kyiv Pechersk historic-cultural reserve
    and ensemble of buildings of Saint Sophia’s Cathedral