At the beginning of the 19th century, all significant events in Nizhny Novgorod, one way or another, were connected with the famous Nizhny Novgorod Fair, which made the city famous throughout Russia. Although the fair itself lasted only one month a year, it was timed to coincide with the construction of many city buildings. The most notable of these buildings was the so-called "fair cathedral": its doors were open to parishioners only during the fair, and all the utensils were transferred here from other churches. That is how the Spassky Cathedral got its name "Old Fair". It was also nicknamed "Spassky" because all the icons were brought here from the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin during the fair. Today, the main shrine of Nizhny Novgorod is the Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky. It is also called "fair", though it was built much later than the Spassky Old Fair Cathedral.

Today, the Spassky Old Fair Cathedral is the oldest building in Nizhny Novgorod associated with the legendary fair and one of the most visited tourist attractions. The majestic white-stone church in the style of classicism was built by the famous architect Auguste de Montferrand. Probably, that's why it looks a lot like another creation of the master, St. Isaac's Cathedral, although it is not as tall as the hundred-meter giant in St. Petersburg. Initially, its luxurious interior decoration was painted by the famous Italian painter Torricelli, following all the canons adopted in Europe at that time. However, Russian merchants did not like the work of the European artist and refused to pray to the naked bodies depicted in his paintings. Some of them even brought their icons to the church. As a result, it was decided to create a new iconostasis in the familiar Old Russian style. It is still preserved in the cathedral, along with the main church relics, ancient icons with relic particles of Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky and St. Seraphim of Sarov.