The Nicholas Church was founded in 1788. Initially, it was wooden, but in 1792 it was dismantled and moved outside the city to the cemetery, where it was rebuilt and consecrated in the name of the holy martyrs Flora and Lavra. In 1793, a new two-story stone church was laid in its place. Three years later, the lower church was completed and consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, the Wonderworker, and the construction of the upper floor was completed in 1802, when it was consecrated in honor of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos.

In 1845, stone two-story chapels were laid on the southern and northern sides. On the southern side, the lower church was consecrated in honor of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, and the upper one in honor of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God, while on the northern side, the lower church was consecrated in honor of the Holy Prophet Elijah. The construction of the lower chapels was completed in 1848, and the iconostases were installed then, with their consecration occurring in 1849. The upper floor was completed in 1852, with the consecration of the southern chapel taking place in 1853 and the northern chapel in 1854.

The cramped conditions of the church, especially its lower floor, became noticeable during major holidays due to the large number of worshippers, which necessitated expansion. In 1855, expansion began, with the belfry being dismantled and a new annex built for the stairs, continuing the chapels to the west. In place of the dismantled belfry, a new one was built, reaching a height of 20 fathoms. In 1895, the stairs were rebuilt again, replacing wooden ones with stone, and the spaces they occupied were adapted for an archive, sacristy, and library on the southern side, and for a storeroom and watchman's room on the northern side.

Externally, the Nicholas Church is a regular quadrilateral building with a hexagonal main altar topped by a dome with a high lantern, culminating in a belfry. New annexes for the stairs have been added to the western side. Above the main altar, there is a lantern similar to that above the dome.

The church is distinguished by the whiteness of its straight, almost smooth walls, which are pleasantly contrasted by the greenery of the surrounding birches and other plants. Inside, it is not very high, especially in the middle part of the lower floor, which is also dark. The best part is the middle temple of the upper floor, especially under the dome, where attention is drawn to the original four-tiered iconostasis made of linden wood in the Rococo style, installed in 1890. In the main temple of the lower floor, the iconostasis has existed since 1863. Among the icons, the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God with a rich silver-gilded robe, adorned with precious stones, arranged by merchant O.I. Fetisov, deserves attention. In the lower floor, the walls were repainted and decorated in 1900-1901, while the upper floor is in need of repair.

The parish of the Nicholas Church is not limited to a specific territory; the parishioners are scattered throughout the city, which is related to the fires of the 1870s. The number of parishioners reaches 1550 in the city and 950 in two villages. Within the parish, there are two church schools, one located in the city and the other in the village of Pogorelka.

Three stone chapels are attributed to the church, one of which, in honor of the Holy Prophet Elijah, is located in the square between the city and the zemstvo hospital, while the other two are in the villages of the parish.

In 1902, the architectural role of the Nicholas Church was assessed as the beginning of a new ensemble of cult buildings in the city, with a distinctly classical orientation and baroque motifs in the domes.

In the 1880s, the priest was the famous mathematician Ivan Mikhailovich Pervushin, who was later transferred to the village of Mekhonskoye. In 1907, the rector of the temple was priest Sergey Valentinovich Konev, and the second priest was Pavel Alexandrovich Pisarev, both from the Verkhoturye district.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the building of the temple housed a dormitory for the agro-pedagogical college, and in the 1940s-1950s, an automotive technical school. In 1991, the temple was returned to the believers, restoration work began, and on December 19, 1991, the first service was held after its closure. In honor of the Nicholas Church, two streets in the city are named after it, now Lenin and R. Luxemburg.