On the outskirts of the ancient city center, on a steep bank of the Oka River, stands a church known as the Znamenskaya, located on Zelenaya. The local spring nearby, which has long been considered the purest in Kaluga, is referred to as Zeleny. The church belongs to the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church.

In the 1626 inventory, the church is mentioned as "the church in the name of the great martyr Barbara with the Nikolsky chapel behind the old fortress." In the 17th century, it was a wealthy church, owning the largest land holdings in Kaluga, covering 1600 square fathoms. In 1685, the church unexpectedly changed its name, and in documents, it is already referred to as Znamenskaya, located on Zelenaya, with the chapel of the great martyr Barbara. At that time, the church was wooden, with five bells. The stone church was built in place of the wooden one in 1720 with funds from merchant Lanin and other parishioners and has been well preserved in its original form. The five domes crowning the church, the three-apsidal altar, the low tented bell tower, the asymmetrically attached chapel, and the graceful and correct proportions of the building's individual parts represent a transitional stage in architecture from ancient Russian style to constructions of the late 17th and 18th centuries.

The church functioned until 1937, and in December 1941, it found itself in the center of battles for the liberation of Kaluga from occupation, but fortunately, it survived. During the Soviet era, the building was used as a warehouse for textile products. Locals recall that after the church was returned to the Church, layers of hardened oil had to be painstakingly removed. In some places, the floor had sunk, and the plaster had crumbled both inside and outside. External decorations, colors, icons, and elements of the interior decor have not survived. In 1960, the Church of the Sign was recognized as a monument of architecture and urban planning of republican significance.

At that time, preservation work was carried out on the church, including the bell tower and domes being covered with iron. After the church was closed in the 1930s, local Old Believers had to use one private house or another for services. Just before the church was handed over to the Kaluga Old Believer community, services were held in a small Nikolsky church on the outskirts of the city, which differed from neighboring buildings only by its dome with a cross on the gable roof. During major holidays, worshippers had to stand outside due to overcrowding.

In March 1989, the Kaluga Regional Executive Committee granted the requests of the Old Believer community for a more spacious prayer building. On March 2, 1995, the church was consecrated by Metropolitan Alimpii, with the co-servants being Archpriest Leonid Gusev, Priest Valery Ostashenko, and Reader Vladimir Protukun.

It was decided to keep the main church named Znamenskaya, in honor of the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary from Veliky Novgorod. The chapel was consecrated in the name of Saint Nicholas. Later, the city authorities returned the street to its historical name, Znamenskaya.