But the wooden church on the site of the present the Nativity of St.John the Baptist Temple was known since the XV century. They decided to build a stone church here in 1676. Local merchant Gavriil Dranishnikov donated a part of his property to the erection of a new church. He did this for his wife’s and son’s sins which joined the Old Believers.

It is interesting that the Nativity of St.John the Baptist Temple was placed on a brick sub-area where the local merchants' shops were located. So the business specificity of Nizhny Novgorod was closely intertwined with the spiritual component. In the XIX century this foundation collapsed and underground waters started washing the temple. But fortunately they had time to take up repairs in time which saved the temple. At the beginning of the 20th century the temple was closed. Its room was occupied by a club of motorcyclists. Nowadays the temple is again returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and extensive restoration work has been carried out there.