The Alekseevskaya Tower, also known as the White Tower, is the only surviving stone tower of the Okolny City in Veliky Novgorod. It was built in the 16th century to protect the city from the south and was named after the wooden church of Alexius, the Man of God.

The tower has a round shape with an outer diameter of 17 meters and an inner diameter of about 8.3 meters. The thickness of the walls on the first tier is 4.5 meters. The lower part of the walls is made of cobblestones and faced with bricks. Inside the tower, there are three tiers connected by staircases built into the walls. The embrasures are designed for artillery fire and consist of large openings narrowing towards the inside of the wall.

The name Okolny City, referring to the external fortifications of Veliky Novgorod, appeared in the late 14th century. By that time, the length of the defensive line was 11 km, and the surviving ramparts still reach 6 km. In the late 16th century, the Okolny City was reconstructed, and stone towers were built at the junctions of the coastal and ground walls, including the Alekseevskaya in the south and the Petrovskaya in the north. The Petrovskaya Tower has not survived.

The Alekseevskaya Tower was erected between 1582 and 1584 and consisted of four tiers. It served as the center of cannon defense on the southern approaches to the city and prevented a breakthrough along the walls by the banks of the Volkhov River to the detinets. The tower has a powerful foundation made of limestone slabs faced with granite boulders, which protrudes 0.5 meters inward and outward. This is explained by the fact that the tower was built on fill soil, which helped it remain in good condition.

The tower is equipped with three tiers of embrasures and one tier of battlements. The first tier has six cannon and small arms embrasures. The second and third tiers have vaulted combat chambers. The second tier has four cannon embrasures and one small arms embrasure. The third tier has five cannon embrasures, including one for firing along the wall. The fourth tier was topped with 24 rectangular battlements.

In the 17th century, construction work was carried out in the settlement. In the 1630s, it was conducted on the Trading side, and in the 1660s on the Sophia side. After the Swedish occupation in the mid-17th century, the tower was repaired and renovated. Its height was increased by adding an additional tier with small arms embrasures. Arched openings were made at the back of the tower for passage and lifting supplies. During the repairs, the tower was whitewashed, which gave it its second name, the White Tower.

The construction inventory of 1667 shows that on the Trading side, there were 190 cannon and 2495 small arms embrasures in the wooden walls and towers. These figures testify to the significance of the wooden fortress of the Okolny City in the 17th century.

In 1697, by order of Peter I, the combat equipment was removed and transported to the detinets, leading to the decline of one of the largest fortresses of medieval Rus. By the end of the 19th century, the Alekseevskaya Tower had deteriorated, its roof was destroyed, and the last tier was lost.

In 1990 and 1995, the tower was restored in the style of the 16th century, covered with a roof, and all entrances were bricked up. In 2011, as part of the federal program "Preservation and Use of Cultural Heritage of Russia," further restoration was carried out. The tower opened to visitors in 2018, and it housed an exhibition dedicated to ancient Russian weapons.