The Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the village of Salmi is one of the largest churches of late classical style in Karelia. The territory of the Salmi district was divided among three Orthodox parishes, the largest of which was the Salmi parish, which had 8,500 parishioners in 1939. Initially, the center of the parish was located in Kirkkoja, where a wooden church stood. In 1788, a new church was built on the site of the old one.

In the early 19th century, the center of the parish moved to the district center Tulema, now known as the village of Salmi. On a hill, with the support of chamber lady Anna Alexeyevna Orlova-Chesmensky and merchant Fyodor Fyodorovich Makovkin, a new stone church in neoclassical style was built between 1814 and 1824. The church had three altars: the left in honor of the righteous Anna, the right in honor of St. Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow. For a long time, this was the largest and only stone building in Border Karelia. Legends associate Orlova's name with myths about her visit to Salmi and charitable deeds, as well as a donation to the church after finding a treasure.

The church was designed by the famous architect J.K.L. Engel, who also worked on the development of Helsinki. The church, consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas and known as the Nikolayevskaya or Annenskaya, measured 30×13 meters, and the three-story bell tower housed 11 bells, the heaviest of which weighed 1,700 kilograms. In the center of the hall rose an octagonal dome, and inside there were three altars and a rich iconostasis. The walls were decorated with numerous icons, and the vaults and columns were painted with frescoes. In the mid-1930s, the church underwent major restoration.

Among the church's attractions were two images from the old wooden church. The icon of the Protection of the Holy Virgin had the inscription: "This Holy image was written in the year 1719 by the order of the Salmi priest Fyodor Ivanov, son of Okulov, by his own effort." The icon of the prophet Elijah stated: "This Holy image was written in the year 1719 in May on the day, in the church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Salmi burial ground, by the order of the same church's deacon Vasily Mikhailov, son of himself and his parents."

Metric books in Salmi have been kept since 1806. The church library was founded by priest Vasily Dremyatsky and was replenished with church funds. The school was located near the church, in the parish house, and was founded by the former owner of the estate Gromov.

During the Winter War, the church was partially damaged, and the remaining utensils were looted. By 1944, the people of Salmi managed to restore the building and some of the utensils, but in the summer of the same year, the church was severely damaged during the advance of Soviet troops. According to one version, artillery fire was directed at Finnish soldiers defending the church; according to another, Finnish batteries shelled the church from Mantsinsaari. However, Finnish veterans claim that the church was heavily shelled by Soviet troops during the Finns' retreat.

In the Soviet era, the destruction of the church continued: the roof completely collapsed, and trees grew on the walls. The old cemeteries were almost completely destroyed, and gravestones were used as football goals.