It is situated just south of the village at the point where the Special Natural Reserve "Koviljsko-Petrovaradinski Rit" begins, a wetland in the valley of the Danube, stretched along its left bank.

[4] In 1217, Serbian ruler, Grand Župan Stefan the First-Crowned was crowned the King of Serbia by the papal legate.

Saint Sava, brother of Stefan, arrived and began diplomatic talks to prevent the war and managed to reconcile two kings.

[1][2][3][7] The present, stone church was built from 1741 to 1749 by the neimars (builders) Teodor Kosta and Nikola Krapić.

By the imperial privilege, the land was strictly divided between the monastery and the nearby settlement of Koviljski Šanac.

Forerunner of the modern Serbian historiography, Jovan Rajić, became a priest in Kovilj and was appointed the archimandrite of the monastery in 1772, where he died in 1801.

During the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the rebels used the monastery as their base in 1849 which forced the monks to move across the Danube, into the Syrmia region.

Young painter Aksentije Marodić painted the new iconostas in the 1880s, including the scenes from the life of Christ and replicas of the most famous paintings from that period which Marodić copied from the galleries in Vienna, Munich, Paris, Rome, Venice, and Naples.

After the partial agrarian reform in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, the estate of Kovilj was reduced, and in 1933 it became a female monastery.

The Hungarian occupational forces looted the monastery in 1941, during World War II, and some artifacts are today still being exhibited in several museums in Budapest.

[8][9] In 1990, three hieromonks were sent to revitalize the monastery: Porfirije Perić (future Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church), Fotije Sladojević [sr] and Andrej Ćilerdžić.

The monastic life includes the daily holy liturgy; fasting on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; and the absence of meat from the menu.

[9] The monastery gained media attention due to the airing of the Bukvar pravoslavlja (the "Primer of Orthodoxy"), from 1996 to 2007.

It includes rare and valuable books and manuscripts which are kept in a large monastic library, the paintings of Uroš Predić and Rafailo Momčilović, the collection of musical literature (assembled by Damaskin Davidović), numerous icons from the 18th and 19th centuries, the monastic archive, etc.

The monastery produces a variety of brandies made of quince, plums, green nuts, and also cognac and walnut liqueur.

[8] Other activities include production of candles and crafting of icons, which, together with numerous herbal balms, can be bought in the monastic shop.

The project expanded beyond the monastery so in 2006 a community was formed on the salaš in Čenej, and then houses were opened in the villages of Vilovo and Brajkovac.

They are supervised by the priests and former addicts and do numerous works, like cooking and cultivating the land, while those with artistic leanings make icons and woodcuts.