The Church of St. Nicholas the White, recognized as a monument of federal significance, is located in the historical part of the city, in the ancient Nerevsky end of medieval Novgorod. Over 700 years ago, the Nikol-Bel'sky men's monastery stood here. After restoration in 2009, it became one of the most popular sites to visit in the Novgorod Regional House of Folk Art.

The monastery has a complex history. Due to various unfortunate circumstances, very few written sources about its life have survived. The Novgorod chronicles briefly mention the laying and consecration of the Church of St. Nicholas on Yakovlev Street in the Nerevsky end in 1135. In 1165, Bishop John introduced a communal life in the monastery under the hegumen Antonii.

Initially, all the buildings of the monastery were wooden. By the 14th century, it had become deserted and dilapidated, but in 1312, it was revived through the efforts of Archbishop David, who had a summer residence here. In 1312-1313, a stone church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, known as Nicholas the White, was built and consecrated. The reason for the name "White" is not recorded in historical documents, but it has survived to this day.

Chronicles rarely mention the Nikol-Bel'sky monastery. In 1386, during Dmitry Donskoy's campaign against Novgorod, it was burned by the townspeople but was soon restored. In 1521, a second stone church of the Prophet Elijah with a refectory was built on its territory. In 1615, both stone churches and all the estates were destroyed and burned. In 1623, Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich entrusted Elder Zosima with the task of reviving the monastery and gathering the brotherhood. A year later, a royal decree confirmed all the previous rights of the monastery to its estates and lands. On February 5, 1672, a severe fire occurred in the monastery, destroying almost all wooden buildings and damaging the cathedral church of Nicholas the White.

After restoration, the monastery received a number of privileges, and its hegumen was placed above the protopopes of the Sophia Cathedral. In 1685, by the patriarch's decree, a public hospital was opened in the monastery. Until 1764, the monastery remained attached to the archbishop's house and was maintained at its expense. It owned over 240 hectares of arable land, meadows, and 325 souls of assigned peasants. From 1764, the monastery was left to its own resources, and then it was abolished and attached to the nearby Zverin women's monastery.

Today, unique exhibition spaces have been created here, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the era of Hanseatic Novgorod or post-war Novgorod of the 20th century. Nativity plays are held here, and stories are told about how children were taught literacy in ancient Novgorod. Thanks to the Historical Reconstruction Club "Zmey Gorynych," one can peek into a real Warrior's house and see elements of the life and armament of Novgorod warriors from different eras, as well as mold their own seal from clay and admire accurate copies of archaeological finds in the "Potter's Yard" workshop.