It was constructed by the outstanding architect Matvey Efymov in the times of Zaporizhzhya Sich in 1693 on the site of the wooden church of the same name, which had been destroyed by the fire of 1685.
The Church of St. Nicholas was the forefront of the outstanding events in the history of Ukraine. The square in front of it served for the Cossack veche. Here they elected hetman Ivan Skoropadsky and Kyrylo Razumovsky, and in the walls of the temple Ivan Mazepa was anathematized.
The temple was built in the classical style of the Ukrainian Baroque. Throughout its history, its architecture has changed: in 1871 a three-tier bell tower and sacristy with a high roof were added. As it often happened, Soviet times left not the best trace on the walls of the temple. In the 1930s, a warehouse of agricultural products was built here, causing considerable damage to the paintings. But after a long reconstruction, which ended in 1992, the church again opened its doors to the parishioners.
The temple is not only a key construction of the city, but also a monument of history and architecture of national and world significance.
