Transfiguration Cathedral was started in the early 20th century on the initiative and on voluntary donations of inhabitants of the Volga cities that would like to note the importance of the spiritual source of the great rivers of Russia. Great help had All-Russian Society of St. Olga.

In Ostashkov district was created the building committee, engaged in the construction of the temple at the source of the Volga. Its chairman was appointed Archimandrite Pachomius, abbot Nil desert.

April 17, 1902 an agreement was concluded with a master stone Ostashkovskaya Affairs Suravkovym Ivan Nikolaevich, who in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many temple structures built Upper and stone buildings in Ostashkov. The temple project was completed in 1904 by architect Victor Tver Nazarene.

Preserved design drawings of the cathedral said that the Holy Transfiguration Church at the origins of the Volga recalls the form of the Pokrovsky Cathedral in Moscow. The desire to repeat the St. Basil's Cathedral is not accidental: thus the architect wanted to emphasize the spiritual relationship of the Metropolitan Cathedral and the church at the beginning of the great Volga.

Of interest is the interior design of the temple, but because of the revolutionary events, it was never implemented. Painting the walls of the cathedral were to be devoted to the Russian Holy Princess Olga. The iconostasis was planned to place the faces of all the saints, which is derived from the offspring of the first Russian Orthodox Church, and it does not disturb the historical accuracy in the order and placement of the image of the Holy offspring Russian princess. Presumably, the creators of the project of murals in the Transfiguration Cathedral wanted to repeat the theme of "the tree of the Grand Moscow dynasty", which is represented in the mural painting of the Archangel Cathedral and the Golden Chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, the Cathedral of the Transfiguration of the Moscow Novospassky monastery. Transfiguration Cathedral in Volgoverkhovye was supposed to be a place of remembrance of the ground glorified Russian people.

The main altar of the Transfiguration Cathedral has the same name with the name of the temple, right chapel constructed in honor of St. Princess Olga, and the left side chapel - in honor of John the Baptist. The temple has five chapters. It was built in pseudo-Russian style. The main altar was consecrated on April 23, 1920.

Transfiguration Cathedral was built by local craftsmen. It is known that the building was occupied by local farmers: bricklayers Vasily Bogdanov Dmitry Sokolov, a brick producing merchant Alexei Semenov of the Volga-riding and farmer Alex North and others. Watched over the quality and production of bricks in the upper reaches of the Volga-building on behalf of the Committee observed: a nobleman and landowner from Ivanovo, Alexei Varaksin priest churchyard Sterzh Golikov.