Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral was started in the early 20th century on the initiative and the voluntary donations of people from the Volga cities that wanted to celebrate the spiritual significance of the source of the great rivers of Russia. Significant assistance was provided by the all-Russian society of St. Olga.

In Ostashkov was created by the County construction Committee involved in the construction of the temple at the source of the Volga. Its Chairman was appointed Archimandrite of Pachomius, Abbot of Nilova Pustyn.

April 17, 1902, an agreement was concluded with Ostashkov master stone cases Surowcowymi Ivan Nikolaevich, who in the late 19th and early 20th centuries built many temple structures of the upper Volga and stone buildings in the town of Ostashkov. The project of the Cathedral was completed in 1904 Tver architect Victor Nazarine.

Surviving the design drawing of the Cathedral says that the Transfiguration Church at the origins of the Volga resembles the shape of the Pokrovsky Cathedral in Moscow. The desire to repeat the Cathedral of Vasily the blessed is not accidental: in this way the architect wanted to emphasize the spiritual relationship of the Metropolitan Cathedral and the temple at the beginning of the great Volga.

Interest is the design of the interior of the temple, but because of the revolutionary events, it was never implemented. The walls of the Cathedral were to be devoted to the Russian Holy Princess Olga. The iconostasis was planned to place the faces of all the Saints who originated from the progeny of the first Russian Orthodox Church, and thus do not break the historical accuracy in the order of placement and the image of the offspring of the Holy Russian Princess. Presumably, the creators of the project murals in the Cathedral of the Transfiguration wanted to repeat the theme of the "tree Grand Prince of Moscow dynasty", which is represented in wall paintings of the Archangel Cathedral and the Golden chamber of the Moscow Kremlin, Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral of the Moscow Novospassky monastery. Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral in Malgovernance was supposed to be a place glorified the memory of the Russian land.

The main altar of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral has the same name with the temple name, the right altar is arranged in honor of St. Princess Olga, and the left side – altar in honor of St. John the Baptist. The temple has five chapters. It is built in pseudo-Russian style. The main altar was consecrated on 23 April 1920.

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral was built by local craftsmen. It is known that in the middle of the local peasants: masons Vasily Bogdanov and Dimitri Sokolov, bricks were made by the merchant Alexei Semenov from the Volga-Upper, a farmer Alex North and others. Watched the quality and manufacture of brick in Volgo-Verkhovye on behalf of the building Committee observed: a nobleman and landowner from Ivanovsky, A. N. Varaksin and the priest churchyard Sterzh Golikov.