Staraya Ladoga Nikolsky monastery located in the village of Staraya Ladoga, on the left bank of the Volkhov five hundred meters from Ryurikovskoy fortress. Today it is a monastic cloister and historic monument of glory and piety of the Russian people.

The monastery was founded in the 12-13 centuries. Most likely, at the same time it was built the Cathedral of St. Nicholas. Its foundation dates back to the victory of Prince Alexander Nevsky over Swedish invaders in 1240.

The first documented information about the monastery found in census quit-books Vodskaya and Obonezhskaya fifths fifths in 1496, which includes a monastery. Over the monastery there were about 20 villages. In St. Nicholas Monastery of Census 1628 it was listed two stone church in honor of St. John Chrysostom, and in honor of St. Nicholas. As directed by the Metropolitan of Novgorod, Cornelius, in 1695 Tikhvin Church, built in Zelenetskii monastery, dismantled and moved to St. Nicholas Monastery.

In the early 17th century, the monks moved here the relics of St. Herman and Sergius of Valaam. There they were before 1718, and then they moved to the Valaam Monastery.

In 1810, the monastery opened the county and parochial schools for children of the clergy. Since 1841 to 1862 years worked at the monastery school for children living in the village. In 1924 the monastery and the cathedral was closed. In Soviet times, the monastery housed a school, agricultural warehouses, dormitories. Most of the building has deteriorated. Only a miracle managed to keep the beautiful murals in the church of St. John Chrysostom. In 1974, the St. Nicholas Cathedral included in the list of architectural monuments of national importance. By the time of the transfer of St. Nicholas Monastery Orthodox Church has preserved the church of St. Nicholas, the Church of St. John Chrysostom, a number of monastic buildings and bell tower.

According to legend, St. Nicholas Cathedral appeared in 1241. By the early 18th century, he had four chapels: Dimitrievsky, Annunciation, Tikhvin Antipievsky and five chapters. Today the building has one chapter and section vaults on two floors - basement and the church itself.

At the site of the old temple of the 17th century in the years 1860-1873 by the architect AM Gornostaeva was built Church of St. John Chrysostom. On the walls, vaults and arches of the church are still preserved painting in the form of evangelical scenes, in the style of academic realism, as well as Byzantine pattern geometric pattern.

Bell Tower was built in the years 1691-1692 Tikhvin wizard. Previously, it was crowned with 10 bells, the weight of the largest of them was 100 pounds (it was donated to the monastery by the merchant Aleksei Golubkov in 1864 in memory of the deceased merchant's wife Elena). The bell were striking clock, which were later claimed by the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

In the center of the eastern wall are arranged Holy Gates, who in 1691 also built Tikhvin wizard. Between the temple housed the monastery cemetery. The monastery was surrounded by a stone wall, built in the years 1834-1839. At its corners were four stone towers. In one of the towers housed a chapel.

Was assigned to the monastery St. John's Cathedral, which was part of the Staraya Ladoga St John Monastery, founded in 1276 (its territory there two springs, one named after Paraskeva). By Nicholas Monastery were also attributed to: Transfiguration Church in the village on the other side Chernavina Volkhov and St. Basil the Great.

Shrine of the monastery is a part of the relics of St. Nicholas, which VV Goloshapova brought from Bari. She was brought to the monastery of November 22, 2002 Metropolitan of Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir. Today, in the monastery are also relics: St. Theodosius Archbishop of Chernigov; St Mary Magdalene; Reverend Lawrence Chernigov; Holy Great Martyr and Healer Panteleimon; the neo-martyrs - Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna and Nun Varvara.

Now the monastery continued its revival by the benefactors and religious.