In Ukraine, Heritage is a Basic Necessity: A Conversation with the Polonika Institute

chrystus_frasobliwy_ze_lwowa_okno_na_kulture_2.jpg, default, ‘Christ the Pensive from Lviv’ at the Okno na Kulturę (‘Window on Culture’) Gallery, photo: press materials

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From the very first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Polonika Institute has been involved in efforts to protect monuments – from fire extinguishers and splinter shields to 3D scanning and long-term conservation projects. Katarzyna Sokołowska, director of the institute, and Piotr Ługowski, head of the programme ‘Protection of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad’, talk to Culture. pl’s Anastasia Kanarska about the scale of the assistance, the challenges of working in wartime conditions, and the symbolic return of the rescued works.

Rescue instead of routine – the scale of support after February 2022

Anastasia Kanarska: Since the first days of full-scale war, the Polonika Institute has been supporting Ukraine in securing its historical monuments. What scale of assistance are we talking about? How much has the intensity of work increased since February 2022, compared to the previous period when you had already begun cooperation?

Piotr Ługowski: Since the Polonika Institute’s inception, our mission has been to coordinate efforts to save monuments related to Poland and Polish culture. Before the outbreak of the war, this included mainly conservation and restoration. However, when the armed conflict escalated, we changed some of our priorities, and our mission also became to protect the shared heritage of Poland and Ukraine in various ways.

Piotr Ługowski, head of the programme ‘Protection of Polish Cultural Heritage Abroad’, photo: personal archive

In the first months after the outbreak of the war, we secured buildings against possible fire, shrapnel and shock waves. This included preparing special fire extinguishers, wrapping sculptures, paintings and other elements of historic furnishings in non-flammable materials, and building structures to protect façades and monuments. We also delivered fire-fighting equipment (fire extinguishers and blankets) that was simply unavailable to over 200 buildings in western and central Ukraine.

An important part of securing the buildings was taking inventory. Since the war began, we commissioned laser scanning of forty-one buildings. 3D scanning is the most precise method of documentation and a valuable source of knowledge. It enables the creation of a three-dimensional model of a monument with a faithful reproduction of details and colours. Among the structures scanned were seven wooden Orthodox churches, which are part of the joint Polish-Ukrainian heritage listed by UNESCO, located in the following regions: Lviv (churches: Holy Spirit in Potylicz, St. Demetrius in Matków, Holy Trinity in Żółkiew, St. George in Drohobycz), Ivano-Frankivsk (churches: Holy Spirit in Rohatyn and Nativity of the Theotokos in Werbiąż Niżny) and Zakarpatia (Church of the Ascension in Yasyn).

The next step was to properly care for larger objects and cemetery greenery, especially old trees, because during shelling and under the influence of shock waves, damaged trees could further damage historic gravestones and chapels. We carried out such measures at the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, among others.

It’s worth noting, however, that there were limitations concerning what we could do. For instance, church administrators often didn’t allow us to implement more extensive security measures. As places of worship, churches were supposed to be places of normality and tranquillity, where one could find peace, and covered altars and sculptures had the opposite effect.

After four years of war in Ukraine, we continue to implement projects here and monitor, among other things, the security situation in Lviv.

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Wojna na Ukrainie. Zabezpieczanie zabytków

AK: What was the biggest challenge of your work after 2022, and what do you consider to be its greatest success?

PŁ: The biggest challenge was and still is maintaining the construction and conservation project. Remember that when carrying out work in Ukraine, we largely do so with Polish-Ukrainian teams, and sometimes the contractors are all Ukrainian. The longer the war lasts, the harder it is to recruit workers.

In terms of success, it was undoubtedly the completion of the organ restoration in the Latin Cathedral in Lviv. The project began in 2022. As the conflict escalated, the team dismantled the organ on scaffolding. The team had to stop work and return to Poland, but not in full force. The team of organ builders included a Ukrainian who could not return to his family in Poland because the border was blocked. Eventually, after some time, the instrument was dismantled and, with the consent of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, the conservation work was continued in Poland. The work took another two years. And then another problem arose, because the restored instrument had to be transported back to Lviv and reassembled. Due to the war, it was difficult to find people willing to take on this task. Ultimately, we did it. There are so many more stories like this...

280 kilos of fragile stone – the most spectacular conservation operation

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‘Christ the Pensive from Lviv’ at the Okno na Kulturę (‘Window on Culture’) Gallery, photo: press materials

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AK: The Warsaw exhibition devoted to the sculpture of Christ the Pensive from the Boim Chapel in Lviv was a unique event – for the first time in history, the figure was dismantled from the chapel’s dome and displayed up close.

The story of this ‘journey’ from Lviv to Warsaw and back almost begs for a film script. Could you tell our readers about the background to this operation?

PŁ: The Warsaw exhibition dedicated to the sculpture of Christ the Pensive from the dome of the Boim Chapel was an unprecedented event. For the first time in over 400 years, the figure was taken down from a height of 26 metres and displayed up close – in full light, almost within reach of viewers.

The decision to dismantle it was not made specifically for the exhibition, but rather for necessary conservation. The stone sculpture, created at the beginning of the 17th century, had been exposed to rain, frost, wind and pollution for centuries. Over time, cracks and structural weaknesses appeared, and some elements, such as the crown of thorns, began to crumble. A Polish-Ukrainian team of experts decided that leaving the statue on the dome without thorough intervention would risk irreversible damage. Originally, the conservation was to be carried out on site in Lviv. However, the outbreak of war prompted the team to decide to transport the sculpture to Poland.

The moment of removing the sculpture was one of the most impressive stages of the entire project. First, all necessary documentation was completed: photographs were taken, along with measurements and technical specifications. Then, specialised scaffolding and safety measures were put in place. Every move had to be precisely planned, because the figure, weighing about 280 kilograms, had been an integral part of the dome’s structure for four centuries. It was an operation that required not only conservation expertise but also engineering precision.

Transporting a monument of this class required special precautions – controlled temperature, appropriate security measures and close cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian institutions. The journey itself had a symbolic dimension: it was proof of concern for our common heritage and solidarity in times of danger.

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To czego nie widać. Konserwacja i restauracja figury Chrystusa Frasobliwego.

The next stage began in Warsaw: research and proper conservation. We used modern technologies, including 3D scanning, to thoroughly analyse the sculpture’s condition and plan reinforcement work. The stone’s surface was cleaned, weakened fragments were secured, and details were reconstructed. It was these activities – invisible to the tourist standing in front of the chapel – that were presented at the exhibition, which was the culmination of this process. The public could see the details of Christ’s face, the subtlety of the modelling, traces of past interventions – everything that was invisible from street level. The title of the exhibition, What Cannot Be Seen, took on a double meaning in this context: it referred both to the height at which the figure had been located for centuries and to the enormity of the research and conservation work, usually hidden behind the scenes.

After the exhibition ended, the sculpture was transported back to Lviv. The Lviv exhibition had a special, almost symbolic dimension – it allowed residents to see up close a work that had been part of the city’s panorama for generations but had remained invisible to their eyes. It was the culmination of this extraordinary journey: Christ the Pensive returned to his city, enriched with a new history and the experience of international cooperation in saving our common heritage.

The sculpture will be returned to the dome of the Boim Chapel once restoration work on the chapel is complete and the structure is fully safe.

Christ the Pensive from Lviv in Warsaw – Image Gallery

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Not just emergency assistance: systemic initiatives and ambitious plans for the future

AK: What is the process for selecting monuments for protection and conservation? What are the current priorities of the Polonika Institute in Ukraine – what projects are you currently working on and what are your biggest plans for 2026?

PŁ: The priorities for selecting projects were established at the beginning of our institute’s activity, and we are consistently striving to implement them fully. In Ukraine, we have focused on objects of historical, artistic, and scientific value.

First and foremost, there is the Latin Cathedral in Lviv. In this place, King Jan Kazimierz was married, where, after the conservation of the organ and frescoes in the choir loft, we plan to complete the conservation of the canonical stalls and, ultimately, finance the conservation of Stanisław Stroiński’s frescoes in the choir loft. A separate project is the renovation and conservation of the Boim Chapel, where we are currently at the research and documentation preparation stage. This year marks the 330th anniversary of the death of King Jan III Sobieski, so we are continuing the project to renovate the façade of the Royal Tenement House – the Sobieski family’s residence in Lviv.

We would also like to begin conserving a Turkish tent, traditionally believed to have come from Vienna or Chocim, which is stored at the Lviv Historical Museum. This is a large project planned over three years, involving the Academy of Fine Arts, the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów, and the Museum of Polish History. There are many challenges, and I hope that the war will not thwart our plans.

Heritage as a therapeutic band-aid

AK: The war has changed the way we think about cultural heritage – not only as the past, but also as an element of identity and social resilience. Is this change in perspective also visible in your work in Ukraine?

Katarzyna Sokołowska: Last year, we celebrated the 80th anniversary of the beginning of Warsaw’s post-war reconstruction, which paved the way for the iconic revival of the capital’s Old Town.

Katarzyna Sokołowska, Director of the Polonika Institute, photo: personal archive

The discussion about the motivations at the time and the propaganda instrumentalisation of that decision still resonates today.

Meanwhile, it took a full-scale war triggered by Putin’s aggression in Ukraine to redefine our thinking about cultural heritage in the face of crisis. Few would now disagree that the revival of the cultural sector is crucial to the development, resilience and intellectual potential of Ukrainian society as a whole, as it is for any other society.

During the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin in 2024, Volodymyr Sheiko, Director General of the Ukrainian Institute, rightly pointed out that this is not a luxury or a secondary task, but a basic necessity. Therefore, in its reports to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and in discussions with Ukrainian partners, the Polonika Institute has consistently emphasised that it also views all its activities in war-torn Ukraine as a form of sophisticated development aid aimed at sustaining or rescuing cultural infrastructure, an integral part of which is, after all, our shared heritage.

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Opening of the exhibition ‘And the Sky Opened...’ in Lviv, photo: Polonika Institute

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This interpretation of our actions takes on a different dimension, especially when we realise that spending on national security and defence accounts for over 25% of gross domestic product (GDP) and over 60% of the Ukrainian government’s total planned expenditure. It does not take a mathematical genius to guess that the victims of such a budget structure are education, culture, and social affairs.

Let me give you an example of a long-term project to conserve the interior of the garrison church (formerly a Jesuit church) of St. Peter and Paul of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Lviv. This building is doubly important in the context of the crisis because, as a former Jesuit church, it is part of our endangered cultural heritage abroad. Still, in wartime, it is also the place of the final farewell to fallen Ukrainian soldiers. The preservation of this temple by the Polish side is therefore a matter of humanity and dignity, which will long remain in the memory of the local community, as will the restoration of the façade of the Royal House on the Lviv market square.

Caring for architectural gems, of which the Ukrainians and we are equally proud, is a ‘therapeutic balm’ for everyday life during wartime, a substitute for the normality we long for.

Know-how from the war – a lesson for Europe

AK: What does the cooperation with Ukrainian institutions, conservators and local communities look like in wartime conditions? Have any new models of cooperation emerged?

KS: The development of the so-called dialogue infrastructure has been a priority since the beginning of last year. The Polonika Institute has set itself the goal of long-term investment in human capital – conservators and custodians of Polish heritage in Ukraine, where, for historical reasons, a large part of Polish cultural heritage abroad is located. As part of study visits and, above all, the development of cooperation networks, we are conducting an intensive Polish-Ukrainian dialogue on a conservation education model aligned with EU standards, which could provide significant support for Ukraine’s future accession to the EU.

In 2025, we established cooperation agreements with Lviv Polytechnic National University and Lviv Academy of Arts, and we are currently discussing developing cooperation with the Ukrainian Catholic University. Following the study trips our Ukrainian partners made to our country, we are planning two more editions of these meetings in 2026. Above all, we decided to listen, so as not to force our partners to be ‘happy’ with our ‘we know better’ attitude. Today, it is already clear that, for example, from the point of view of Vasyl Kosiv, Rector of the Lviv Academy of Fine Arts, shorter master’s or research stays combined with access to modern conservation workshops in our country are more effective than annual and semester scholarships at Polish universities. We are currently gathering information on demand in Ukraine for targeted tutoring stays (to support the implementation of new conservation methods) for our academic staff. During the ‘Polish Studies’ round table in Kraków, we heard that a regular Polish-Ukrainian congress of conservators would be useful. For my part, I added that it might be worth considering introducing a trilateral mechanism in the Lithuania-Poland-Ukraine constellation, reviving the otherwise extremely valuable format of the Nesvizh Academy, which has unfortunately been ‘frozen’ by the Belarusian dictator.

The Polonika Institute was the only Polish institution invited to Kyiv as an observer, alongside the Ministry of Culture of the Kyiv National Academy of Arts, to participate in the inauguration of the Strategy for the Development of Culture in Ukraine for 2025–2030. We also participated in subsequent expert workshops (pre-conference to URC 2025) on the functional model of the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Fund (UCHF) and the roadmap for its establishment. Ahead of us lies the challenge of this year’s Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk. We are pleased that the proposals of the Polonika Institute have a chance to be included in Poland’s offer to its partners in Ukraine.

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Opening of the exhibition ‘And the Sky Opened...’ by S. Kubicki, Royal Łazienki Park, Warsaw, photo: Marta Wrzosek

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AK: In your opinion, what role can international solidarity play in protecting cultural heritage during wartime, and what can Europe learn from Ukraine’s experience?

KS: Faced with the unknown, or the answer to the question: what will replace the world order that was dismantled before our very eyes after the turning point of 1945, international solidarity does indeed seem to be a huge challenge.

Fortunately, in the context of protecting cultural heritage during wartime, Poland can share its positive experience, having acted as early as February 2022. As a reminder, the European Heritage Label was awarded in our country to, among others, the birthplace of Solidarity and a symbol of the struggle for freedom and human rights, the historic Gdańsk Shipyard; the symbol of democratic and peaceful political change – the Constitution of 3 May; and the Union of Lublin, a symbol of European integration ideas, the transnational heritage of democracy and tolerance, and cultural dialogue. These titles impose an absolute obligation – to (also lobby internationally for) solidarity!

And what can Europe learn from Ukraine’s wartime experiences? Undoubtedly, it must realise the need for continuous training in organisational agility and creativity, investment in cultural diplomacy, constant analysis of alliances and their replaceability, and, above all, expenditure on the security of its resources. They also teach openness to innovation, and here I would give the floor to the Ukrainians themselves. Western military and defence industries have long known that in their sector, knowledge will be transferred from Ukraine to the West (drone technology, air defence tactics, etc.). Are we, in our culture, already at the stage where we can put our egos aside and listen to the advice of Ukrainian managers from the broadly defined creative sector who have experienced war? Well, a great hub of know-how on conducting cultural activities in times of danger lies just beyond our eastern border. Let us simply, tactfully, allow ourselves to be instructed by our neighbours from Lviv, Kharkiv, or Odessa...

Fragment of a mural in the Garrison Church of Sts. Peter and Paul in Lviv, photo: Piotr Ługowski

Regardless of that, the response to the appeal of local authorities and the involvement of the Polonika Institute in rescue and construction works, for example, at the headquarters of the Central State Historical Archives of Ukraine in Lviv – critical infrastructure per se – can certainly be a source of satisfaction and a sense of decency. The building of the former Bernardine monastery (17th century) houses zero-class archival resources, proving how unique a ‘laboratory of cultures’ our region of Central and Eastern Europe is.

On the other hand, in 2026, we plan to carry out renovation and conservation works on the ‘Józia’ spa facility in Adamówka Park, part of the legendary health resort in Truskavets. The implementation of this seemingly unspectacular project takes on a broader social dimension against the backdrop of the ongoing war and its social consequences (rehabilitation of veterans). At the same time, with this project, Polonika is moving beyond sepulchral monuments and those related to religious worship, adding functional infrastructure for a resort and recreational purposes to its portfolio. We consider this important in the context of strengthening the recreational and tourism sector, which will support Ukraine’s economic reconstruction after the war. We were convinced to make this decision by the local government’s commitment, its comprehensive vision for the resort’s overall revitalisation, and the recommendation of the Ukrainian Ambassador to Poland, Vasyl Bodnar.

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