Palace of dreams. How neglected historic buildings can change the lives of entire communities

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In Ukraineand there are tens of thousands of architectural monuments that are gradually collapsing. Meanwhile, these buildings can give a great impetus to the economic and cultural development of towns and cities. On November 30, a landmark announcement was made – from next year, it can finally be to earn register of objects of cultural heritage, which potentially gives the opportunity to completely change the situation with the palaces and castles of the country.

Every morning Anastasia Donetsdirector of the Communal Institution of Culture “Malievet regional historical and cultural museum“, climbs the stairs of the ancient palace to meet tourists. Exhibition of paintings, walks with horses, trails in picturesque places – these and many other cultural events attract thousands of tourists every year. However, not so long ago, the palace, built in 1788, in which four generations lived , was doomed to decline.

After the closure of the regional children’s specialized sanatorium in 2012Dawn” the historic building, like many others in Ukraine, began to collapse. Examples of an interesting and beautiful place turning into ruins can be found in almost every Ukrainian community. However, in 2021, Anastasia Donets, with the help of local authorities, managed to change the status of the palace in Maliivtsy , which was reclassified into a museum.

“The thing is, this is my family history. I grew up and studied here. My parents live here, my grandparents worked here. I graduated from the history department, went into the private sector, I know what the tourism business is. And then, when the issue of closing this facility arose, we did everything in one breath and did not let the palace die“, says Donets.

Orlovsky Palace, Maliivtsi village, Khmelnytskyi region.

The opening of the museum coincided with the beginning of a full-scale invasion, but the American foundation came to the rescue, thanks to which the palace received funding for the preservation of cultural heritage. Gradually, tourists began to come to the village, where 400 people live. Donets shares statistics: in 2022, 6,000 people visited the museum complex, and in 2023 – already 8,000 visitors. Moreover, it was possible to create several dozen jobs, and people came to work even from Kyiv.

“We were very lucky – with local authorities, society, volunteers who helped us. I was ready to give my whole life to this cause. Sometimes I wonder with horror what would have happened to the palace without us“, Donets says.

Her example, unfortunately, is a good exception to the bad situation with historical buildings. In Ukraine, only old facilities are being audited, thus, 105,000 objects have already been included in the previous version of the “State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine”. But it turns out that this area, which is out of the attention of both the state and private business, can literally be a gold mine. Towns and villages that manage to preserve the historical heritage receive new life, jobs and income to the local budget through taxes and rent payments.

Sergey Butdirector “Prozorro. Sales“, emphasizes that the state also receives significant funds for the sale of old buildings. Thus, Bout reports – over 300 historical objects were sold and leased on the “Prozorro.Prodazhi” platform, with sales reaching UAH 1.4 billion, and rent brings to the state budget 2 million hryvnias per month.It should be added here that this does not apply to historical monuments that remain the property of the state.

Treasures are in everyone’s eyes

Anna Gavrylivdirector of LLC “Partition Palace” and the founder of the cultural initiative “Heritage.UA“, tells what happened to historical buildings: “Unfortunately, we have to state the fact that the system of the Soviet Union made good use of cultural heritage, for example, fish were bred in the basements of the Brunytsky Palace in Pidhirtsy, Lviv Region, and at one time a piggery was built in the Rayiv Palace in Pryozerny, Ivano-Frankivsk Region. And there are many such examples“.

Moreover, during such current and capital repairs in Soviet times, important elements of the decoration of historical buildings were consciously and unconsciously destroyed. For example, in the Hershhorin Palace in Derazhn, Khmelnytskyi, the palace was converted into a school, and the luxurious interior with polychromy and stucco on the walls and unique tile stoves was dismantled, so that the pupils would not develop a love for the “bourgeois worldview”. On the other hand, Hanna Gavryliv continues, a large share of once “nationalized” residences and estates in small communities changed their function to objects of social infrastructure: sanatoriums, tuberculosis dispensaries, schools, etc. Therefore, due to ensuring the current maintenance of buildings and care for the territories, these architectural monuments and the adjacent parks are in a better or worse state of preservation, but still passed on to Ukraine as a legacy.

Brunitskyi Palace, Pidhirtsi village, Lviv region.

But with the issue of “life” of objects of cultural heritage in the times of Independence, we have a disappointing situation, says the expert. It can be justified by the fact that in the difficult 90s, people had nothing to eat and such questions were definitely out of time. But the fact is that over the past three decades cultural heritage has been left to its own devices.

“Today, the bulk of the ruins is the result of a square meter of the roof that was not patched in time, a stolen linear meter of the gutter, a broken and unglazed window. This is how we lost the Pomeranian Castle in the Lviv Oblast at one time – because of one square meter of the roof that was not patched in time. Heritage has an expiration date, and if it is not looked after in time, it begins to die irrevocably after a few years of neglect and human indifference“, Gavrylov is sure.

Archival photo of the palace in Maliivtsi.

In turn Kateryna Goncharova, candidate of historical sciences, expert on crisis issues of cultural heritage of the World Monuments Fund, says that architectural heritage forms the environment in which people live. Therefore, practically all social, political, and cultural life takes place mainly in the historical center of the city.

“Even comparing, for example, some places where the cultural heritage is not so well preserved, we still travel to Lviv, Kyiv in order to be in these eternal cities. And this, including mainly due to cultural heritage“, Goncharova adds.

Zhevusky-Lyankoronsky Palace in Lviv Oblast.

She also believes that architectural heritage is a serious resource for the economic development of social communities, and it is not only about tourism. As an example, Kateryna Goncharova cites research by the National Trust for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the United States of America, which found that historic districts are more attractive for economic development.

“The Americans even had such a slogan that young people love old buildings. They are more people-oriented, more democratic, the environment is more comfortable, it feels safer for the vast majority of people“, Goncharova explains.

The architect also says about the classification of such real estate Ivan Shchurko. He explains that there is so-called folk, small architecture and palace and castle complexes that have integrated the best examples of European culture. Great historical buildings and their owners were part of the network of Europe. For example, Countess Karolina Liantskoronska, who grew up in an estate in Rozdol, was the first woman to defend a scientific thesis in art history at Jan Kazimierz University in Lviv. It is obvious that such cultural phenomena were born, in particular, from the high social context in which the countess grew up. Shchurko gives an example: the Liantskoronska family enriched the Rozdil palace with a unique collection of antique sculptures and art objects, which greatly enhanced the interior of the building. Therefore, this renovated palace can be called a national heritage, the expert is confident.

Steps required

Associate Professor of the Department of Architecture and Restoration of Lviv Polytechnic National University Yury Dubyk agrees that the situation of ancient architecture in Ukraine is difficult. He notes, first of all, that cultural heritage is part of Ukrainian identity, like language is part of culture. However, no one in the state understands how many such historical buildings there are in the country, so it is necessary to start with accounting, especially at the level of local authorities. Secondly, restoration of buildings should be based on preservation of authenticity. Thirdly, it is necessary to find an acceptable model between the preservation of the building as a heritage object and the economic calculations for its existence.

“For example, in Poland there is a minister of culture, his deputy is the so-called chief conservative of the state in the capacity of deputy minister. Or the main restorer, whatever you want to call it. And accordingly, the ministry in Poland is called the Ministry of Culture and Protection of Cultural Heritage, not the Ministry of Information Policy. This is an indicator of the approach“, says Dubyk.

Hershhorin Palace, the town of Derazhnya in the Khmelnytskyi region.

The reconstruction of historical buildings almost guarantees the development of social infrastructure. Architect Shchurko tells how he traveled through Romania in the 2010s and saw an example of Bran Castle – one of the historical buildings associated with Vlad the Impaler, Count Dracula.

“You see quite poor villages – and here is the Bran castle, around which there are 3-4 villages that look like resorts, because there are a lot of cafes, restaurants, hotels, hostels, souvenir shops, craft goods. That is, this castle became a catalyst for significant economic development of both the village itself, in which it is located, and several nearby“, Shchurko explains.

States and small communities have the opportunity to save heritage objects under their ownership with the funds of their own budgets or grant-makers and donors. Hanna Gavryliv says that before the war there were a number of funding programs similar to state infrastructure: the “Great Restoration” program from the Ministry of Regions, the “UKF” program from the Ministry of Culture, regional micro-project competitions, as well as several external players in the field of heritage that provided grants on the basis of co-financing. Gavryliv adds that during the war, some effective balance-keepers were able to save their objects through programs for internally displaced persons, for example, the Palace of the Gredls in Skole in the Lviv region received 400,000 euros from the German Zoological Society for the restoration of the roof.

What does the Zhevusky-Liantskoronsky palace look like now?

Civilized sale or lease of historical buildings is also a way out. Booth, the director of Prozorro.Prodazhi, emphasizes that even during the war, the number of auction participants did not decrease, but remained at a high level. Thus, among the buyers are private individuals, limited liability companies or natural persons – entrepreneurs who usually specialize in construction or real estate rental.

The director of “Prozorro.Sales” gives an example – already during the full-scale invasion in Kyiv in the summer of 2023, an auction was held for the sale of the Hermitage hotel, where the final price was UAH 311 million and thus increased 15 times.

“Or a good example is the Zhevusky-Lantskoronsky palace, which was sold this summer for more than UAH 15 million (including VAT). The new owner plans to preserve this palace as much as possible and is considering several possibilities for its practical use: a rehabilitation center for the military, a private English-style school or a hotel. Currently, a competition for business plans for the arrangement of this palace is being held. Such interest in historical buildings helps us not to lose hope and predict that 2024 will pass with a growth of 10-15% in terms of auction volumes. Therefore, the first step is purchase, and then restoration“, says Booth.

His words are confirmed by Yaryna Yatsenko, the head of the Novorozdil city council, on the territory of which the above-mentioned palace of the Zhevuskyi-Liantskoronskyi is located – if the building had not been restored, it would not have survived the winter.

“In fact, saving the architectural monument is our duty to the past and the future“, Yatsenko stressed.

Read also: More money for books and museums: how the 2024 State Budget for culture was formed

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