Bolshaya Pecherskaya is one of the oldest streets in Nizhny Novgorod, named after the Pechersky Monastery, founded in the 14th century.
It began at Blagoveschenskaya Square and served as the road to the Ponizhye region (the future Kazan highway).
At the beginning of Bolshaya Pecherskaya, a complex of buildings for N. G. Shakhovskoy's theatre was erected at the close of the 18th century. A small square formed around it, which was eliminated in the mid-19th century.
At that time, however, Spassky Square was planned between Bolshaya Pecherskaya and Minin Street) Streets, with a stone cathedral rising at its centre (no longer extant).