Kyiv Uses 3D Technology to Protect Cultural Heritage Amid Wartime Risks
Ukraine has unveiled a new digital initiative aimed at safeguarding the capital’s cultural heritage by creating high-precision digital records of historic monuments and works of monumental art.
The Gaze informs about it, referring to Kyiv City Administration.
The project, titled “Virtualization of the Cultural Heritage of the City of Kyiv,” was presented in the capital and is being implemented with the support of the local authorities. It combines 3D visualization, interactive maps, audio guides, and virtual tours, allowing both specialists and the public to explore and help preserve Kyiv’s historic environment.
As part of the 2025 phase of the initiative, experts in digitization, history, and local studies created detailed 3D models of six landmark heritage sites in the historic core of the city.
These include the Monument to Magdeburg Rights, the Church of St. Nicholas Prytyska, the Pokrovska Church, the bell tower of the Church of St. Nicholas the Good, the Resurrection Church of the Florivskyi Monastery, and the building of the National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture.
City officials note that Kyiv is home to nearly 3,800 cultural heritage objects, more than 2,500 of which are officially protected as immovable monuments, including hundreds of sites of national significance. Digital documentation is seen as a crucial tool for preserving these assets, particularly those requiring restoration or facing long-term risks.
The project is being carried out under the “Digital Kyiv” municipal program for 2024–2027 in cooperation with cultural heritage institutions and the city’s digital services team. The digitized monuments are accessible through a dedicated tourism and culture platform, which also features virtual museum visits, online exhibitions, and immersive routes through historic and natural landmarks.
Officials emphasize that the initiative not only enhances public access to Kyiv’s cultural heritage but also provides architects, conservators, and urban planners with accurate digital replicas that can be used in restoration and development planning.
As The Gaze previously reported, Ukraine has been elected as Vice-Chair of the Bureau of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage for one year.
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