The monastery on the banks of the Volga is usually said to have been founded in the XIV century by the monk, who came to Nizhny Novgorod from Kiev Pechersk Lavra (i.e., Kiev Monastery of the Caves). In the Middle Ages the monastery became an important spiritual and religious center of the Principality of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod. The monastery was destroyed by a landslide on June 18, 1597. However, monks managed to save church values and property. The same year the monastery was rebuilt about 1 kilometer upstream of the old site.
The architectural complex that we know today consists of the 17th century buildings.