12 km from the town of Zhovkva, among the hills of Roztochia, covered with beech and pine forests, at the foot of the Poboynaya mountain, there are the walls of the ancient monastery of St. Nicholas. According to legend, it was founded in the middle of the 17th century by monks - natives of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Joel and Sylvester. At first, the monastery was located in caves, which are rich in the surrounding mountains, but in the 60s of the 17th century, the construction of stone fortifications with defensive towers began.

Krekhovsky Monastery is located in a very picturesque place, 12 km from Zhovkva and 3 km from the village. Krekhova, among the hills of Roztochia covered with beech and pine forests, at the foot of Mount Poboynaya. It is a unique complex, which includes the Church of St. Nicholas, buildings of cells, a bell tower, utility buildings and old defensive muri with towers. The architectural ensemble of the Krekhovsky Monastery is dominated by a four-tiered bell tower (1759) built over the eastern tower and topped with a baroque dome.
A two-storey monastery house was built along the eastern defensive wall, which was continued in 1776 by completion to the corner south round tower. In 1902, another monastery building was built along the southwestern wall according to the project of I. Vishnevsky. The main monastery gates were at first located in the eastern mura, but in the second half of the 18th century. it was dismantled, and the main entrance was moved to the north side of the monastery. The current gate was built in baroque forms in 1776. A stone bridge is thrown over the defensive ditch to it.

According to popular retellings, the Krekhovsky Monastery was founded by the monks of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra Joel and Sylvester. They settled in cells carved into the rock, which eventually became known as the "Rock of Joel", cells, and on its top they built the chapel of the Intercession and next to the chapel of Peter and Paul.

A very beautiful century-old linden alley has been preserved in the monastery garden. The garden is surrounded by a stone wall built in 1795. Krekhov attracted pilgrims from beyond the Dnieper, the Don, from distant Greece and Crete. Now, as in the past, thousands of believers come to the Krekhovsky Monastery on Nikolai on May 20, 21 and 22.
Near the monastery, the ritual "Voyage of the Cross" was restored, which from the monastery walls, from the southern ledges of Mount Poboynaya, goes to its top. The "Holy Sepulcher" chapel built in 1938 (architect I. Filevich), which ends the "Way of the Cross", has been preserved. The entire building ensemble of the Krekhovsky Monastery with a garden and wonderful green landscapes, among which it is located, can now be viewed from the observation gallery.

After the annexation of Western Ukraine to the USSR, the monastery was closed and a children's boarding school was located within its walls. Only in 1990 the Basilian monks returned here. Today the monastery houses the Higher Theological Basilian Seminary.