At first Liesborn was a monastery of nuns or a women's collegiate foundation, but by the 12th century the community had grown so worldly that in 1131 Egbert, Bishop of Münster, expelled them, and replaced them by Benedictine monks.
From the 13th century ascetic life steadily declined as the abbey increased in wealth, and the monastery, like very many other religious houses in Germany, became a secular college for the nobility.
Thanks to this influence, Liesborn was in a very healthy condition by the time of the distinguished abbots Heinrich of Cleves (1464–90) and Johann Smalebecker (1490–1522), who restored the buildings and greatly improved the economic state of the abbey.
The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 brought a temporary improvement, but Liesborn suffered further during the wars of the 18th century, and by the time of the suppression was thousands of thalers in debt.
The beautiful paintings of the altar-piece by an unknown artist with which Abbot Heinrich adorned the church became famous, as the works of the Master of Liesborn, but under French administration in 1807 they were sold for almost nothing.