In ancient times, all the elevations on the left bank of the Moskva River, starting from the Yauza River, were called Krutitsy. At that time, this bank was steep and cliff-like, which gave the name to the monastery founded in the 13th century, Krutitsky.

There are several legends about the founding of the monastery, one of which is associated with Prince Daniel of Moscow. On the site of the future monastery, there once was a princely village of Krutitsy, where Prince Daniel wanted to build his court. However, a hermit living there dissuaded him, predicting that a church and a monastery would appear here. The prophecy came true, and in the 13th century, the prince founded a church, after which a men's monastery was established around 1272. The monastery quickly developed, and soon the Krutitskaya diocese became one of the largest in Rus, including about 15 monasteries, 907 churches, and around 650,000 parishioners.

The flourishing of the Krutitsy courtyard is associated with Metropolitan Paul II (1664, 1676), an educated man of his time and a patron of sciences and arts. Under him, the Holy Gates with a gatehouse appeared, from the windows of which the metropolitans blessed the believers. This gatehouse became the filming location for the movie "The Guardsmen, Forward," where Sophia was imprisoned in her aunt Pelageya's tower. Also, under Paul II, the "Krutitsky Vertograd" was created in the courtyard, one of the first decorative gardens in Moscow with fountains.

With the church reforms of Catherine II, Krutitsy experienced difficult times. In 1785, the Krutitskaya diocese was abolished, and the Assumption Church became a parish church. The courtyard was handed over to the Military Department, and church property and archives were sent to the Kremlin's Chudov Monastery. In 1924, services in the Assumption Cathedral ceased, the utensils were looted, and the frescoes and icons were painted over. The entire territory of the courtyard came under military control.

In 1947, a new life for the courtyard began thanks to a reconstruction project commissioned to Soviet architect Pyotr Dmitrievich Baranovsky. The restoration lasted more than 30 years. It is known that after Stalin's death in 1953, Beria was held in the Krutitsky dungeons. In 1966, the Krutitsky chambers became a museum object, and since 1982, a branch of the Historical Museum. In 1991, part of the courtyard was transferred to the church, and since then, Krutitsy has become the official courtyard of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus, housing the Department for Youth Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church.