Not much is known of the monastery's history. The chronicles first mention it in 1162, then it was burned down in 1386, when the troops of Dmitry Donskoy attacked the city. It was a custom of that time to burn the monasteries in advance, so that the enemy got neither quartering nor board. In the end of the 16th c. three stone churches - Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity and St. Nicolas - were among the monastery's buildings. By the end of the 18th c. the monastery was abolished, all monks transferred to the Valaam island, and the monastery of the Holy Spirit soon re-opened as a nunnery. Till our days survived only two constructions - the stone church of the Descend of the Holy Spirit and the Refectory by the church of the Holy Trinity. The abundance of decorations and scaly wooden domes looking festive on their tall narrow drums make these buildings noticeably different from the rest of Novgorodian churches. Both buildings are not plastered, and you can admire the intricate brickwork of the walls.