In the ancient Nikolsky Monastery, a new three-span bell tower with three golden domes appeared in 2005. The bell tower looks grand - three arches rise on a high base with decorative ornaments, with bells visible inside them, and above, on elegant drums, the domes and crosses gleam with gold.
The architecture of the bell tower follows the style of Rostov bell towers and churches of the 16th century and the motifs of ancient Russian architecture. On the lower tier there is the Church of the Beheading of John the Baptist - not very large, but very original and beautiful. The three-domed composition rising above it and the arcade of the bell tower have become the finest decoration for the church.
The design for such an unusual architectural solution belongs to V.N. Izhikov, and the funds for construction were provided by the well-known patron and construction magnate Viktor Tyryshkin.
Earlier, there was a tent-roofed bell tower on the grounds of the Nikolsky Monastery, built at the end of the 17th century. The bell tower and the main cathedral were blown up in 1923, when the Soviet authorities closed the monastery. A livestock base, production workshops, and warehouses were set up on the monastery grounds, while the bell tower, Nikolayevsky Cathedral, and the monastery cemetery were destroyed.
During the restoration of the monastery, it was decided not to recreate the architecture of the old bell tower and to combine a church and a bell tower in one building.
