The church is located east of the Assumption Cathedral and is part of the Gostiny Dvor plan. It was originally built of wood in 1206 or 1216 but was burned during the Time of Troubles. Restored in 1654, it burned again in 1671. The stone church without columns was erected between 1685 and 1690. The interior of the Church of the Savior on the Trade, with its upward striving and solid altar barrier, resembles the interiors of the Rostov metropolitan churches. Between 1762 and 1764, the temple was painted by Yaroslavl masters, including Afanasy and Ivan Shustov, Mikhail Soplyakov, and others.

In 1839, the Savior Church suffered greatly from a city fire, and the wall paintings were covered in soot, necessitating their renewal in the 1840s. At this time, a bronze openwork frame with arches and cast heads of cherubs was made for the iconostasis. The walls, updated with glue paints, lost their original bright colors, which have only been preserved on the vaults and the upper tier of the walls.

The painting system, with minor changes, mainly follows Rostov traditions. In the dome, 'God Sabaoth' is depicted, blessing with both hands, in the spandrels of the drum are prophets, and on the sails and under-dome arches, red cherubs. The Evangelists are depicted in round medallions above the windows of the central drum. The vaults represent major holidays, such as 'Resurrection', 'Ascension', and 'Descent of the Holy Spirit'. The wall paintings are distributed in five bands. The three upper bands illustrate the earthly life of Christ and parables, which are original in their iconography. The two lower tiers are dedicated to the cycle of the 'Passions of Christ', with a particularly expressive composition 'Procession to Golgotha', where the wise thief Rah is depicted at the center of the procession.

The entire eastern wall is occupied by a five-tiered iconostasis, the four upper tiers of which are painted directly on the wall. The eastern vault of the iconostasis is crowned with the 'Crucifixion', flanked by 'Annunciation' and 'Entombment'. In front of the royal gates of the iconostasis is a stone canopy on columns, decorated with images of angels with crosses. On the frontal part of the canopy are depicted 'Crucifixion' and scenes of 'Eucharist', and in the vault of the canopy, 'Christ the High Priest'. On the window slopes are depicted saints in full height, and in the keystone arches, 'Sabaoth', 'Good Silence', 'Sign', 'Almighty', 'Angel of the Lord', 'Emmanuel', and 'Deesis from three medallions'. Unlike the metropolitan churches, the iconography of the altar is modest and limited to the image of 'Christ the Almighty' in the central conch, while the other parts of the altar are whitewashed and decorated with classical ornamentation.

Overall, the painting is characterized by good tiered proportions and a classically clear construction of all frames. Executed in the 1760s, it testifies to the long existence of ancient monumental traditions in the Yaroslavl school. The rich colors of the architectural curtains play an important role in the decorativeness of the painting; their significance is purely ornamental, and the patterned fabrics that adorn them resemble peasant curtains made of colored prints.

After the revolution, the church was closed, and a city library was placed in its building. The frescoes were whitewashed. The temple suffered serious damage due to rising groundwater levels. Restoration began in the 1960s, but the most significant work was carried out in the 2000s with funds from the World Monuments Fund. In 2009, the temple was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.