The Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg is located at the end of Nevsky Prospect. It is believed that here, at the confluence of the Black River (now Monastyrka) into the Neva, the battle of Prince Alexander Nevsky's troops against the Swedes took place on July 15, 1240.

The monastery was popularly called Alexander's temple. Its construction began in 1710 based on the designs of Domenico Trezzini and Starov. In 1712, the first buildings appeared near the monastery: the wooden Annunciation Church and a chapel. In 1713, the church was consecrated, and then the construction of the monastery settlement began.

The Alexander Nevsky Lavra was not only a spiritual center of Russia but also one of the first educational institutions in the country. In 1721, a Slavic school opened here to teach children reading and writing, laying the foundation for a network of spiritual educational institutions. The Lavra housed the relics of Saint Prince Alexander Nevsky and a part of the relics of Saint Innocent of Irkutsk, transferred here in 1790 but confiscated by the Bolsheviks in 1922. In the early years of Soviet power, the Lavra suffered greatly: almost all its superiors after 1917 until its closure in 1933 were executed, including Archbishop Procopius of Odessa and Kherson. In January 1918, when Red Army soldiers attempted to seize the Lavra, he refused to hand over the keys to the storerooms and was arrested but soon released due to the demands of the faithful.

Residents actively resisted the closure of the Lavra. In 1918, when armed Red Army soldiers were sent to requisition the church's premises by order of the People's Commissar for Social Welfare Alexandra Kollontai, a half-million-strong procession of Petersburg residents emerged to protect the Lavra. This event extended its existence for another 15 years, until its final closure in 1933.

The Lavra resumed its activities only in 1996.