The Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky Monastery at Cape Pur-Navolok is first mentioned in chronicles in 1419, when it was attacked by Norwegians (Murmans). It is possible that Novgorodian governors in Zavolochye participated in its foundation. Nearby the monastery were Pomor villages of the Nizovskaya volost of the Dvina district, such as Lisostrov, Knyazhostrov, Uyma, Lyavlya, and others.

Due to the threat of an attack from Sweden, Ivan IV the Terrible decided to take urgent measures to protect Pomorye. On March 4, 1583, he issued a decree instructing Moscow voivodes Pyotr Afanasyevich Nashchokin and Alexei Nikiforovich Zaleshanin-Volohov to quickly build a fortress at Cape Pur-Navolok: "...to build a city in that place and according to that measure, as per the drawing and plan sent to you, hastily, with those peasant people whom I have appointed for that city matter...".

In 1584, which is considered the year of the city's foundation, the voivodes hastily erected a city around the Arkhangelsky Monastery within a year: a stockade with double hewn walls, towers, and gates to the north, west, and south, surrounded by a moat with a fence and palisades. Opposite the fortress on the bank of the Dvina, a ship landing was built, reinforced with a log structure. The fortress housed the residence of the voivode, the Mikhailo-Arkhangelsky Monastery, and the archers from Kholmogory and Moscow. The trading factories of the English and Dutch were relocated to its walls. In 1587, 130 families from the Dvina settlements and volosts were also resettled here, forming the Novokholmogorsky settlement.

From the late 1580s, Arkhangelsk became the center of Russian foreign trade, providing up to 60% of the state treasury's income. On March 26, 1596, the new city on the Northern Dvina was first called Arkhangelsk city, in honor of the monastery located within it.

In the 17th century, Arkhangelsk experienced a period of prosperity due to trade with England and other Western European countries conducted through the White Sea.

Today, a monument in the shape of a sea wave stands at the site of the fortress, and part of the fortress has been preserved nearby. The embankment along the cape has become a favorite walking spot for locals and tourists.