The complex, surrounded by turreted walls and a tower gate, today houses the Maulbronn town hall and other administrative offices, and a police station.

In 1138, a free knight named Walter von Lomersheim donated an estate at Eckenweiher (now Mühlacker)[2] to the Cistercian Order for the establishment of a new monastery.

[3][5] In 1147, the Eckenweiher monks were moved to a new site near the source of the Salzach river by the Bishop of Speyer, Günther von Henneberg [de].

[6] Located in the hilly Stromberg region,[7] it was rich in water[a] and, though it was also near the Roman road running from Speyer to Cannstatt, was isolated.

Construction of the Maulbronn Monastery complex began soon thereafter and was largely completed by 1200–01; the abbey church was consecrated in 1178 by Arnold I, Archbishop of Trier.

[9] The new abbey at Maulbronn soon began a period of steady economic growth and legal security with the backing of both Bishop Henneberg, a supporter of the Cistericans and the Hohenstaufen, who were at the time the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1148, Bishop Henneberg waived Maulbronn's obligation to pay levies for the large amount of forest its monks had to clear and Pope Eugene III granted the monastery the right of patronage.

However, the number of lay brothers at Maulbronn dwindled over the 13th century, owing to conflict between them and the monks,[14] and as a result the monastery increasingly relied on hired laborers to work its land.

Ulrich subsequently had Maulbronn's vogtei transferred to him, effectively annexing the monastery and its territories into the Duchy of Württemberg.

[19] Duke Ulrich adopted the Lutheran faith in 1534,[20] and subsequently ordered the dissolution of all monasteries within Württemberg's territories, and seized their properties.

The Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire decided in the Cistercians' favor at the 1548 Augsburg Interim,[21] which followed the defeat of Ulrich and the other Protestant princes in the Schmalkaldic War.

Following a program created by one of his advisors, Johannes Brenz, he established Protestant seminaries in thirteen of Württemberg's monasteries.

[25] During the Nine Years War, Maulbronn was part of the defensive network of the Eppingen lines, built from 1695 to 1697 by Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden.

[26] In the later years of the 17th century, Duke Louis III tasked his court architect, Georg Beer [de], with renovating the monastery for the seminary.

[34] From 1210 to 1220,[35] an anonymous architect trained in Paris erected the first example of Gothic architecture in Germany at Maulbronn's narthex, the southern portion of its cloister, and the monks' refectory.

[32] There is a very limited amount of Renaissance architecture at Maulbronn, represented primarily by Duke Ludwig's hunting manor.

Just behind the gatehouse are the pharmacy, originally an inn, and the residence of the monk responsible for giving early morning mass to guests at the monastery.

Just north of the city hall is the Haberkasten, used as a granary, and adjacent to that is the workplace and residence of the monastery's chief baker.

[43] In front of this wall on the lay brother's side is a large image of Christ crucified, carved around 1473 from a single block of stone.

[47] They were carved around 1450 by an unknown master,[48] possibly Hans Multscher, who covered them in biblical scenes and mythical creatures.

[47] The frescoes within the church depict the Adoration of the Magi, the entrance of Maulbronn's founder Walter von Lomersheim into the monastery as a lay brother.

The portal into the lay brothers' church contain the oldest datable doors in Germany, fashioned from fir wood in 1178.

The five Gothic windows were added from 1340 to 1350 and the half-timber structure above the lavatorium was built around 1611 in a style similar to that of Heinrich Schickhardt [de].

[56] Across from the fountain house is the monks' refectory,[55] where the full brothers ate their meals and listened to a reading of the Bible.

[31] Attached to the center of the eastern side of the cloister is the chapter house, where monks could break their oaths of silence.

[53] A corridor on the eastern side of the cloister goes to a Late Gothic connecting building, built by lay brother Conrad von Schmie, leading to the monastery hospital, the Ephorat.

The connecting building is decorated with a mural depicting Benedict of Nursia and Bernard of Clairvaux kneeling before the Virgin Mary.

[59] In the southeast corner of the complex is the Faustturm, the tower where Johann Georg Faust is alleged to have lived while staying at the monastery in 1516.

[63] The water levels in these lakes could be controlled, allowing Maulbronn's monks to power their mill,[64] but also to raise fish and eels.

[69] The ancient quarters now house a boarding school, the Evangelische Seminar Maulbronn,[73] operated by the Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Württemberg.