In 1883, it was decided to erect a cathedral in the city of Kostanay. On June 6, 1898, with a huge gathering of people, the consecration of the cathedral church took place.
St. Nicholas Cathedral is a large-scale structure, the tallest building in the city at that time. The bell tower had a tent-like completion, the prayer hall was crowned with an octagonal cylinder, at the corners of which four smaller decorative cupolas were installed.
In the temple’s architecture, one can find signs of the Russian-Byzantine style, which gained popularity in the last decades of the XIX century and in the beginning of the XX century.
The temples’ structure is three-part, that is, it consists of an altar, a temple and a porch with a refectory.
Looking at the temple’s details, we can say that the helmet-shaped dome is traditional for Byzantine architecture. Bulbous domes decorating the roof are more specific to the Russian style. The temple is crowned with seven domes, which signifies the seven sacraments of the Christian Church and seven Ecumenical Councils. There is also a tall tent-shaped bell tower, topped with the same bulbous completion.

In Soviet times, it was decided to demolish St. Nicholas Cathedral, located in the very center of the city. The cathedral was dismantled (according to other sources, it was imploded) in 1936-1938. The bricks of the destroyed temple were used for the construction of school No. 12 (or 24), the House of Soviets (now the building of the Baitursynov KSU is located there), and other facilities.
The cathedral was located in the Central Square opposite the entrance to the main building of KSU, between the city fountain and the monument to A. Baitursynov.