GRANTEE
The project is a logical continuation of the previous project, "Cultural Heritage Objects of the South of Ukraine during Russia's War against Ukraine: Documentation, Significance, Future," by Yuliia Manukian and Serhii Diachenko. This time around the focus will be on Kherson itself. Kherson was liberated on 11 November 2022, and has been under massive shelling since that date. Before liberation, the enemy took the collections of the Kherson Regional Museum of Local History and the Kherson Regional Art Museum, as well as documents of the State Archive of the Kherson Region from the city. The building of the local history museum was purposefully fired upon, and cultural heritage sites are also under constant shelling. It is already known about a dozen damaged architectural monuments. Residents are being evacuated from the city. Now, 40,000 of the 300,000 residents remain. And this is not the end.
We will monitor the destruction of cultural heritage monuments, paying particular attention to collecting the most complete historical and visual information about them to facilitate the process of their revival. We have participated in the development of supporting historical and urban planning documentation for the last two changes to the general plan of Kherson, and additionally we were engaged in the inclusion of new objects in the register of monuments of historical heritage. However, these materials remain out of focus for project documentation developers. Furthermore, the city community is excluded from this process.
The goal of the project is therefore to disseminate information about the history of urban planning in the city, about the specificity of its architectural and urban fabric, and the important elements of its identity. We will discuss the significance of individual monuments, especially those that were destroyed, to achieve their post-war restoration in their original form and prevent their demolition.
The results of the research will be published in the form of a book in Ukrainian and English. It will contain scientific-historical and architectural –urban planning sections, which will be adapted as much as possible to the sensibilities of the widest possible circle of readers. It will contain a large amount of illustrative material, including some that has never before been published, with all necessary references.