It is one of the unofficial symbols of Nizhny Novgorod, along with the Dmitrovskaya Tower of the Kremlin, the Chkalov staircase and the fair.

July 20, 1881 it was solemnly consecrated in the presence of Emperor Alexander III, his wife Maria Feodorovna and Tsarevich Nicholas.

In 1856 the merchants decided to build a new Orthodox cathedral in memory of the visit of the fair by Emperor Alexander II.

In the winter of 1930, according to the decision of the leadership of the Volga Flotilla, the iconostases and all the wooden ornaments of the cathedral were broken up for firewood to heat the city's houses.

During World War II, an anti-aircraft battery was installed on the site of the central tent of the cathedral, which defended the Gorky city (the name of Nizhny Novgorod in the Soviet era) from the Luftwaffe air raids.

The installation of the bell in honor of the 400th anniversary of the Nizhny Novgorod militia of Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky was planned at the confluence of the Oka and Volga rivers, 300 meters from the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.