On the Southern Coast of Crimea, alongside the royal estates of "Livadia" and "Oreanda", there were also properties belonging to close relatives of the Romanov dynasty. From the second half of the 19th century, they acquired land here, where the best architects of Russia built magnificent palaces, villas, churches, and other structures. One of these architectural masterpieces was the palace and church in the estate of Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich "Kharkas". The name is associated with the ancient Roman fortress that existed here in the 1st and 3rd centuries AD, and the Greek word "charax".

According to the design of the talented architect Nikolai Petrovich Krasnov, a palace in the style of "Scottish chalet" and various outbuildings were first constructed in the estate. Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich, a lieutenant general, was married to the Greek princess Maria Georgievna. They had two daughters, Nina and the younger Ksenia. In the summer of 1905, the elder daughter fell ill with diphtheria. German doctors from Homburg, near Darmstadt, performed a successful operation on August 6. On this day, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord. Georgy Mikhailovich saw a miracle in this event and decided to build a church in his estate in honor of St. Nina the Equal-to-the-Apostles, the heavenly patroness of his daughter, and the Transfiguration of the Lord. He also entrusted the project of the church to N.P. Krasnov.

On January 14, 1906, on the feast day of St. Nina, in the presence of Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich, his brother Alexander Mikhailovich, and his wife Ksenia Alexandrovna, as well as guests from Yalta, the laying of the church took place. The architect of the Imperial Court wrote about the church:

"The church in the estate of Grand Duke Georgy Mikhailovich Kharkas was built in 1908 and completed in 1912. It is designed in the style of Georgian and Armenian churches of the Caucasus, Akhpat and the Gelati Cathedral. Built from local limestone, adorned with ornaments of the same stone. The roof is made of stone slabs on reinforced concrete arches. The iconostasis is carved from red polished limestone. The royal and northern gates, as well as the icon cases, are made of bronze in the same style. There is a separate bell tower next to the church, adjoining the garden's retaining wall."

An octagonal drum rose above the church's dome topped with a four-pointed stone cross. According to the sketch by artist A. Slavtsov, the Italian workshop of Antonio Salviati created a mosaic image of the Uncreated Savior, located above the central entrance. This image was a copy of an icon from Peter I's house in St. Petersburg, which accompanied him in the Battle of Poltava and was especially revered by the Romanovs. The elegant church became an adornment of the Southern Coast.

In October 1913, N.P. Krasnov was awarded the title of academician of architecture. In his list of best works, he highlighted the Livadia Palace and the church in the estate of "Kharkas".

In the list of liquidated churches of the Yalta district dated June 18, 1923, it is indicated that the former estate "Kharkas" houses the rest house of the Central Committee of the RCP(b) of Ukraine. The church was to be liquidated, services ceased, and the building was used as workshops and warehouses. The destruction of the mosaic and the barbaric attitude towards the church became a loss for the cultural heritage of Crimea during the Soviet era. On December 30, 1991, local residents removed the lock from the church, which had been a storage for archaeologists.

Over time, the first services began, conducted by the rector of the Archangel Michael Church in Alupka, Archpriest Valery Boyarintsev. In December 1993, the rector became Hieromonk Alipiy Kozoliy, now Bishop of Dzhankoy and Razdolnensky. Since October 2011, the rector of the Church of St. Nina and the Transfiguration of the Lord has been Priest Konstantin Dmitrenko with the blessing of Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea. A new chapter began in the history of this remarkable church.