The Cathedral Church of the Assumption was built in commemoration of the great Siege of Smolensk in 1609—1611, replacing the former cathedral of the same name.

The first cathedral on the site was founded in 1101 by Vladimir Monomakh and it became the first example of monumental art in Smolensk. Chronicles describe that ‘the same summer laid Vladimir the foundations for the church in Smolensk, episcopal stone in the name of the Virgin Mary’.

In 1611, after nearly two years struggling to protect Smolensk from the hostile forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, those defending the city blew up stocks of explosives stored in the cellars near the Cathedral Hill. As a result, part of the cathedral collapsed. The invaders restored the cathedral edifice, but started using it as a Roman Catholic church. After the liberation of Smolensk, the old building was demolished from 1674 to 1675. In 1677 the construction of a new church building was begun under the supervision of the architect Alexey Korolkov. The new cathedral was bigger than the former one and its exterior aspect differed, as a result of the high apses moved away from the main building. However, construction was halted and resumed only in 1712. Finally, in 1740, the architect Schedel completed the construction of the cathedral, crowning it with seven blue domes with golden stars. In the 1761 the central and the western cupolas of the cathedral collapsed.

In 1767—1772 the architect P. Obukhov rebuilt the roof, restoring the traditional five-dome structure to the cathedral. The edifice of the Cathedral Church of the Assumption in Smolensk resembles many other ancient churches of the Assumption of the Mother of God: it is a cruciform church with a five-domed roof, cubic with three apses. A small sacristy adjoins the north-east corner of the cathedral. Interior decoration combines elements of ancient Russian architecture and the baroque style in vogue in the middle of the XVIII century. The exterior walls of the cathedral are divided into three sections by broad pilaster strips, repeating and reflecting the internal division of the cathedral. Between the pilaster-strips there are two-tier windows: those on the lower tier are arched, while those above are round. The window frames are decorated with elements of baroque style: ribbon-like shapes and zigzag patterns. The cathedral has three portals (entrances). The main western portal has a glazed porch and was built in 1890. The central part of the western façade is topped by a small baroque pediment with little cupolas. The walls are completed with an overweight cornice. In the north-west corner of the cathedral there is a bell tower which was built from 1766—72 and incorporated the remains of the previous XVII century bell tower in its lower tier.