According to local legend, in 1855, Archimandrite Israel, the abbot of the Oten Monastery near Novgorod, erected a cross at the site of the future Sorrowful Women's Monastery and placed stones from Jerusalem at its base. However, in the book by S. G. Pavlovsky, published in 1905, other information is provided: Archimandrite Israel received land from the Demidovs for a communal residence and in 1889 sent his portrait with a request to place it in the refectory of the monastery he founded in 1886. He also donated 500 rubles for construction.

The formation of the future monastery's territory began in 1864 with the construction of the Sorrowful Cemetery Church, funded by merchant I. I. Sergeev. By 1911, the monastery's fence stretched from the building by the Little Kushva River to the cemetery behind the church altars. The monastery owned lands in the area of the Ship Cape, lands by the Olkhovka River, and land under the village of Petro-Kamensky.

The idea of creating a women's monastic community in Nizhny Tagil arose in the early 1860s thanks to widow Maria Vasilyevna Navzorova. Requests for the establishment of the monastery were submitted to Bishop Ephraim of Perm in 1883 and 1884. The latter indicated that the society of the Nizhny Tagil plant was ready to cede 2 desyatinas of land. Archimandrite Israel also petitioned the Demidovs, and before his death, Pavel Pavlovich Demidov allocated land for the community. However, the Perm Consistory denied the requests due to the community's lack of funds, allowing the establishment of a women's almshouse, headed by Ioann Flavianov.

Initially, 14 people lived in the almshouse, and after 10 years, their number increased to 25. By 1892, the almshouse had two two-story houses, and by 1901, two more were built. In 1897, a women's church school opened, which became a parish school in 1902.

Throughout the 1890s, the almshouse submitted requests seven times to transform into a monastic community. In 1902, it was renamed the Sorrowful Women's Community, and in 1904, it became a monastery. The abbess was appointed Feozva Kruze, who became the first nun of Nizhny Tagil in 1903. In 1913, Abbess Maria was awarded a gold pectoral cross for her efforts in improving the community.

In the 1910s, the monastery experienced a flourishing period. The sisters engaged in agriculture, ran a school, cared for graves, and practiced handicrafts. There were workshops in the monastery, and before the revolution, up to 160 people served there.

In 1920, the monastery was closed, and a concentration camp was established on its territory. In 1922, the camp was disbanded, and the territory was repurposed for an orphanage. In the 1930s, the monastery buildings were lost.

In the 1990s, restoration work began, and in 1998, the Sorrowful Women's Monastery was opened. Since 2011, Abbess Maria Stashevskaya has been in charge. Today, 10 sisters serve in the monastery.