The temple of St. Basil the Great, located on an elevation, is one of the most famous architectural monuments of the 15th-16th centuries. Despite numerous attempts to destroy it, it has survived to this day thanks to divine providence.

The hill on which the church stands is surrounded by greenery and in ancient times resembled an island amid vast marshland. At its foot flowed the Zrachka stream, which has now become Pushkinskaya Street. In 1375, a wall of the Middle City was built along the stream, passing near the church. On this wall stood a tower with a siege bell, which in 1581 warned the residents of the approaching troops of Stephen Batory.

The first construction of the temple dates back to 1337. It was founded by the merchant Christopher Karel Dol, a German by origin, who became the progenitor of well-known Pskov families. He was baptized under the name Basil and built a stone church in Pskov. A southern chapel was arranged in honor of St. Alexius, the Man of God, and in 1377 a church was erected in honor of St. Anastasia of Rome.

The northern chapel, dedicated to the Apostle and Evangelist John the Theologian, was built later, in 1585-87, and had a burial chapel that has not survived. In the 16th century, a sub-church was also built, where in 2002 a child's coffin with the remains of a child in beautiful booties was discovered, indicating noble origins.

In the first quarter of the 16th century, an icon of the Tikhvin Mother of God with an akathist in 24 frames was painted in the church. This icon is now kept in the Pskov Museum-Reserve, while the fate of other venerated icons is unknown.

In 1533, the first bells were cast for the church, but their whereabouts, as well as those of the bells that replaced them in 1920, remain unknown.

Unlike the 16th century, which became a golden age for the church, the 17th and 19th centuries were times of deprivation. The church was assigned to the church of Nikola with Usokhi, and from 1875 it became a dependency of the Kripeck Monastery. From 1921, services ceased, and the church was used as a document storage. Only after 82 years did services resume in honor of the 1100th anniversary of the first mention of Pskov.

According to chronicles, the church was saved from fire in 1562. In the 18th and 19th centuries, despite its dilapidation, it was not destroyed. During the Great Patriotic War, only the northern chapel was damaged. After the fires of 2002, the church was restored again and delights with its magnificence.