Through joint efforts, funding, and an information campaign, the doors from the building on Vyacheslava Chornovola Street, 9 were saved, taken into storage, and transported for restoration, in September 2023 — returned to its original place.
This story could have been short — a collective thank you, a few beautiful shots, and that’s it. But who are we if not storytellers, eager to share all the details with you?
So, once upon a time, there were doors. As you walk through your cities, you inevitably pass by these doors — people and time may wear them down, or they may be beautifully preserved by owners who have cherished them for years. Most of the time, we rush past them without a second glance. However, in September 2022, the disappearance of this particular doors — with its incredible wrought iron initials and date — caught the attention of many.
A post by Kolomyia activist Solomiya Zinets sparked a real detective story for us — “In Search of the Door.”
Before we could reach the owners of the building, who had replaced the historic door with brown metal-plastic doors, we had talked to almost everyone and even checked if the door had ended up at Kolomyia’s landfill.
After several days of intense searching and diplomatic efforts by Kolomyia’s chief architect and co-founder of Kolo Bramy, Andriy Oliynyk, and the head of the cultural heritage protection sector, Oksana Pashnyk, the building owners finally got in touch. During this time, Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram channels transformed into a powerful wave of an awareness campaign: posts about the door appeared on the page of Kolomyia’s mayor, Bohdan Stanislavskyi, and stories were covered by NTK, Informator Kolomyia, Dzerkalo Kolomyyi, Franko.News, PIK, Kurjer Galicyjski, Ukr.net, Davniy Halych, Halka, and Zakhidnyi Kuryer, while concerned citizens widely shared the news.
After all these events, the door — which had been sitting in the garage of one of the building’s owners — was finally transferred to Stanislav Balanovych for initial storage. It even received its first “restoration”, as it was from Stas that we received an incredible photo of a section of the transom light cleaned from years of paint layers.
Once we got the doors, we faced a serious question: what next?
September 2022 was the first fall of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with massive shelling and the first cold, dark days of blackouts — not the best time to launch a fundraising campaign for the restoration of the doors. So we decided to wait.
The blackout-filled autumn and winter passed with many doubts and concerns. We knew we had to continue the project, but how should we proceed with the doors?
By spring 2023, when the doors were moved to the Art Courtyard of Kolomyia’s People’s House for storage, it became clear — we had to act now, as the conditions there were not suitable for proper preservation. And in May, just days before the anniversary of kolo bramy’s founding, on the birthday of project co-founder Olena Yuriichuk, we took the leap and launched the fundraiser.
For the restoration, we decided to turn to the initiative #FrankivskWeMustProtect, which had successfully restored over 40 doors in Ivano-Frankivsk. One of the main questions, of course, was the cost — how much would the restoration of the Kolomyia doors be?
The preliminary estimate ranged from 75,000 to 85,000 UAH, but the final cost was determined after all the restoration work, including glasswork, metal repairs, frame reproduction, transporting the doors back to Kolomyia, and installation. Our goal was to raise the first 50%, which would allow us to transport the gate to Ivano-Frankivsk and begin the initial restoration work.
Despite our fears, we started the campaign. On May 19, just a day after launching the fundraiser, we met our personal patron angel — Dmytro Samoylov from Kherson region. And of course, there was an amazing story worthy of being in a book: Dmytro’s wife is from Kolomyia, and we still joke that Kolomyia girls must know something special if they can inspire — not just love for them but also a deep desire to protect this beautiful city.
The first donations came almost immediately after publishing the details. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who believed in this project and our crazy idea — to restore the doors on Chornovola Street, 9. Starting a fundraiser during wartime for something other than Ukraine’s Defense Forces was a tough challenge — not just financially, worrying if we could raise the sum, but also morally — did we even have the right to ask for funds for this?
In the end, the total cost of restoration reached 110,000 UAH — more than we had hoped, but necessary due to the complexity of the work.
After a few weeks of fundraising, on a rainy June 17, we opened the doors of the Art Courtyard to clean off the dust and load the disassembled doors onto a vehicle bound for Ivano-Frankivsk, where the restoration team was waiting.
There was plenty of work to do: the Kolomyia door became a record-holder in size — its height with the frame was an incredible 4 meters 16 centimeters. Even transporting it in pieces was a challenge, let alone bringing it back after restoration! A lot of work was also needed on the wood. The massive frame had to be recreated from scratch — originally made of oak, it was restored with the same material. Oak was also used for the intricately carved impost, which had survived thanks to its sturdy nature. The door panels and other details, originally made from softwood, were more susceptible to damage. The wrought iron elements, from tiny floral accents to the central feature — the numbers 1909 and initials — required significant restoration efforts.
The color choice was another challenge. Normally, restorers strip away all layers of paint to find the original shade. In our case, the gate had been painted a reddish-brown color when removed, but at installation, it seemed to have been coated with an oil-based liquid. Restoration is a meticulous process, requiring the replacement of decayed and lost elements. After cleaning and repairing wooden parts, it was decided to paint the doors in a deep cherry-red color — elegant and distinct from its “Soviet” predecessor, harmonizing beautifully with the black wrought iron details.
On September 29, after a year away from home — including three months of “restoration-sanatorium” work and nearly seven hours of careful reinstallation by multiple craftsmen — the Kolomyia doors returned to their rightful doorway. And with each “click” of the hinges settling into place, something clicked in our hearts as well — because the significance of the doors is beyond words.
Even though the restored door has been back for over a year, we still start our mornings near it — altering our routes just to pass by, grabbing coffee to pause and admire its vibrant hues. Most importantly, we remind ourselves: that this restoration is not just a huge step for the city in preserving its historical heritage, but also a powerful step for us in the long and now very real journey of restoration and inspiring others to fall in love with Kolomyia’s old gdoorsates.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who was involved in making this happen!
