Volunteers restoring original windows of Kyiv university damaged by Russian missile attack

Volunteers are restoring the original windows of the main building of Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University (KNU) in Ukraine's capital.

Dmytro Perov, an activist and founder of the "Tsehla" monument preservation hub, reported this on Facebook.

What is the problem?

On October 10, 2022, the central building of Taras Shevchenko KNU was damaged due to a Russian rocket attack. Over ten cultural and educational institutions in the city center were damaged that day, namely, the Khanenko Museum, the Kyiv Art Gallery, the National Philharmonic, and the Building of the Central Council on Volodymyrska Street.

What is the solution?

The "Tsehla" hub began fundraising to restore two original windows that survived two world wars and raised the needed amount in 2022.

How does it work?

"The window frame had five layers of paint. After carefully opening each of them and strengthening the structure, we selected samples of the original color," the activist wrote. "Thanks to modern technologies, it was possible to convert this color into RGB and vice versa into the palette of modern colors." 

The volunteers emphasize that they will glaze the windows and treat the frames after the weather warms up.

Reference

Taras Shevchenko Kyiv National University is a state higher education institution in Ukraine located in the capital city of Kyiv.

As of 2020, it took 1st place in the university rankings. It is also the largest university in the number of students and majors. From 2009 to 2014, it was an autonomous research university.

The institution was named after Ukrainian poet, resistance figure, and activist  Taras Shevchenko in 1939.

During the German occupation, the university was opened in November 1941, but it was already closed in 1942. A significant part of the staff retreated with the Soviet troops. It was evacuated to the city of Kzil-Orda of the Kazakh SSR, where in 1942-1943, Kyiv University merged with Kharkiv University to form the United Ukrainian University.

After the re-occupation of Kyiv in November 1943 by the Societ army, despite the destruction caused by the German occupation authorities (the main building was blown up, and offices and libraries were destroyed), the university resumed its activities in January 1944.