In the 17th century, the Nikonian reform prohibited the construction of tent churches; however, this ban did not extend to tent bell towers. As a result, a new type of religious buildings emerged, tiered churches, or ship-like churches. These structures aimed upwards, but not as dynamically as tent churches.

The tiered effect was achieved by stacking octagonal logs, usually three, which decreased in height and width as they rose to the dome with the cross. The same technique was used in the construction of bell towers, which were topped with a tent. The height and fragmentation of the volume met the demands of the time, while the fragmentation of forms was in the spirit of baroque, which first spread in the capitals and then in the provinces of Russia.

Tiered churches, where the main logs, altar, refectory, porch with a tiered bell tower, and entrance were aligned along the east-west axis, resembled a two-masted sailing ship. One of the best examples is the Nikolskaya Church in Vysokiy Ostrov. In 1783, the "Clerical Records of the Novgorod District" mentioned "The Church in the name of St. Nicholas, new, wooden, without side chapels, cold..."

During its existence, the church has undergone at least two major renovations in 1879 and 1901. The lower part of the building, almost a square base and three walls of the refectory, is made of thick round logs, joined at the corners "in a rounded manner." The joints were complex: two longitudinal tenons and two vertical transverse grooves were left in the cup. This design prevented the logs from shifting and simplified the processing of corners, where the logs were hewn, and the angles were straight. The roofs were made in two layers.

The altar has a five-pitched roof, the refectory has a gable roof, the two octagonal sections have single-pitched roofs on eight sides, and the upper octagonal section has an eight-pitched roof. The dome is covered with wooden shingles. The bell tower's square base is covered with gable roofs on the northwest and southwest corners, while on the opposite corners, there are single-pitched roofs. The lower octagonal section is covered with single-pitched roofs, and the upper one has an eight-pitched roof, which served as the floor of the bell ringing tier.

The church's iconostasis has been preserved in its original form, although it has undergone updates. It is made in a frame construction with baroque carvings and gilding on a painted background. It consists of four tiers of icons: local, deesis, festive, and prophetic. Major restoration work was completed in 1979, but minor work continued until 1989. Later, an iconostasis with restored icons and "royal" gates was installed.