The foundation of the church at this site is linked to a legend that reflects the traditional theme of the Vyatka and Udmurt regions' struggle between paganism and Orthodoxy. The legend was narrated by the archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral, A.I. Chernyshevsky:

"On the hill where the Annunciation Cathedral now stands, there used to be a chum, a sturdy barn with a floor and ceiling, where haymaking tools, provisions, and honey were stored. According to the old-timers of this village, ten years before the factory was established, they began to hear a sound resembling a bell tolling, which had not been heard before. The Votyaks began to say that a Christian church would one day be built here, which would destroy their shrines where they made sacrifices to Keremetya."

The decree for the construction of the future church was signed by the Kazan Bishop Gabriel on February 19, 1759, and it was consecrated on October 15, 1760, in the name of Saint Dmitry, Metropolitan of Rostov. The first church in the settlement, Dmitrievskaya, was wooden and stood for 14 years until it was burned and looted by the troops of Yemelyan Pugachev. The temple was located in the center of the settlement, on the site of the current central square of the city. In 1764, permission was granted to build a new warm church with an Annunciation chapel. In June 1774, the temple was looted.

On May 14, 1775, at the request of the chief commander of the Goroblagodat and Kama factories, Colonel Akim Obolyanovich, a decree was issued for the construction of a "new wooden church," which was consecrated in 1775. The population of the settlement was growing, and the small church could not accommodate everyone. Additionally, the roof of the temple had rotted, allowing rain to seep inside.

On September 28, 1810, six factory employees, including artist Yakov Dudin, appealed to the authorities with a request: "It is necessary to build a stone church in its place." Soon, the old wooden Dmitrovskaya church was moved to the hilltop cemetery, where it was reconstructed and consecrated in 1820 in the name of the Transfiguration of the Lord. In November 1811, priest Vasily Georgievich Blinov, who came from Izhevsk, became the initiator of the new church's construction. From 1812, as he became the archpriest and protodeacon, he actively sought the erection of a stone church worthy of a large factory city. Therefore, in 1816, the construction of the expansive Annunciation Cathedral began.

On October 6, 1815, Bishop Gideon of Vyatka signed the decree for the construction of the temple. On October 12, 1815, a corresponding directive was issued by the Vyatka Spiritual Consistory. It was recognized that the factory "by the decree of His Imperial Majesty dated December 10, 1813, was equated with the main mining factories, and according to the Mining Regulations approved on July 13, 1806, a protodeacon was always appointed at the main factory, which is already present at the Votkinsk factory, along with two priests, two deacons, and six clerks. Therefore, the Votkinsk church should be referred to as the Cathedral of the Annunciation of the Mother of God and indicated and written as such everywhere, which should be communicated to the Sarapul Spiritual Administration."