The oldest monastery of the Holy Orthodox Russia overlooks the Oka River. The Monastery is mentioned in the Primary Chronicle of 1096 in connection with the Murom Campaign of Prince Oleg Svyatoslavich of Chernigov and the death of Prince Izyaslav Vladimirovich under the walls of Murom. In the middle of the 16th century, Ivan the Terrible placed his military camp near Murom during the campaign to conquer Kazan. The Tsar gave his word that if he captured Kazan, he would build stone temples in the town. Ivan the Terrible honoured his word by ordering to build the main cathedral of the Spassky Monastery in Murom in 1555.  In the second half of the 17th century, the Church of the Intercession, the second heated stone church of the Monastery, was erected. In 1687, the abbot's palace was built to become the oldest stone civil building in Murom surviving to this date.  Now, the Monastery stores a portion of the relics of Ilya Muromets in a silver frame having the shape of a hand, which is embedded in a wooden sculpture.