The monastery, originally called the Spassky, was located high over the Kamenka River and served as a fortress to protect the town from any attackers.

Vasily II of Moscow was captured and taken as a prisoner to Ulugh Muhammad sons Makhmud and Jakub.

The new Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour was built of white stone in a traditional Russian style.

[3] The monastery grew in importance in the 16th and 17th centuries after donations by Vasili III, Ivan IV and the Pozharsky family, a noble dynasty of the region.

Between the 16-17th centuries the monastery also got the Assumption Church, the bell tower and the seven-domed Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Saviour.

Its interior contains restored frescoes by the school of Gury Nikitin of Kostroma, dating from 1689.