The capital of Pomorye was founded as a fortress around the Monastery of Archangel Michael, near the recently built ship dock at Cape Pur-Navolok. For its protection, Ivan the Terrible sent shooters from Moscow and Kholmogory. One of them, a gunsmith, settled with his family near the monastery and was known as Yuri Arkhipov, son of Buyanov. Since then, this area has been called Yuryev Hill, and the local dock was named Buyanovskaya.

Initially, there were dependencies of three monasteries here: the Antoniev Siyisky, St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Karelian, and the Solovetsky. On a map from the early 18th century, another dependency, the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, appeared. The commercial life of the city thrived near the monastery walls, as Yuryev Hill had the largest market rows. Therefore, the square and street were called Trading, and the shop activities in ancient Arkhangelsk peacefully coexisted with the monastic tranquility.

Archbishop Varnaava successfully chose a location for the chapel in the bustling trading area. Markets always attracted a diverse crowd, and St. Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors, was especially revered in the Russian North. Thus, sailors, fishermen, peasants, merchants, nobles, and travelers constantly came to the chapel, and later to the church, for prayers.

Thanks to the efforts of benefactors Shingaryov and Plotnikov, the Nikolsk Church, which replaced the chapel, was built of stone, warm, square, with a semicircular altar. It had five windows with double glass frames and iron grilles. The church was plastered and painted with oil paint, the roof was iron, painted black, and the altar and dome were covered with copper. The neck under the dome was wooden with glass frames, and the cross was iron, gilded with red gold. Under the vault, there were four small bells, and the platform was made of white stone.

The dependency of the Nikol-Korel Monastery closed in the late 1920s, and soon border troops were stationed here, followed by a club. Now the Nikolsky Church has been restored, but it is no longer a dependency, as the fate of the Nikol-Karel Monastery, located 35 km from Arkhangelsk, turned out to be even sadder. During the Soviet years, buildings of the Sevmash enterprise were constructed around the monastery. Since this is a restricted area, there is still no free access for believers to the monastery, despite its transfer to the church.