During its heyday in the early Middle Ages, the abbey was a political power that vied for regional influence with the Prince-bishops of Würzburg, the Archbishops of Mainz and the Counts of Rieneck.

Today its location is occupied by a (mostly newly constructed) monastery operated by the nuns of the "Dominican Order of Saint Catherine of Siena", also known as Kloster Neustadt.

A Benedictine abbey here was first mentioned (Niwenstat) in a document from 768/769, when Megingoz, second Bishop of Würzburg, retired from his post to found a monastery at what is today known as Michaelsberg, referred to in historic sources as Rorinlacha.

Reportedly, the consecration of the abbey church in 793 was attended by Charlemagne, Willibald, Bishop of Eichstätt and Lullus, Archbishop of Mainz (although the latter in fact died in 786).

[1]: 3 To establish the new foundation's independence from Würzburg, Megingoz succeeded in making it a Königskloster, chartered by the Franconian king and not subject to control by a bishop.

[1]: 3  However, Charlemagne is known to have supported the abbey financially and gifted it with large properties in the nearby Spessart hills.

[2] With substantial land holdings in the region, the abbey rose to become one of the most important in Franconia and monks from Neustadt played a key role in bringing Christianity to the Saxons from Verden an der Aller, working closely with the abbey at Amorbach, which was often led by the same abbot as Neustadt.

[5] In 993, Emperor Otto III issued a charter at his Pfalz at Tilleda which "restored" the abbey along with others in the region to the Bishop of Würzburg, then Bernward von Rothenburg [de].

The later documents (and some works of art) made her out to be Gertrude of Nivelles, daughter of Pippin the Elder, but this Saint died in 659.

[2] During the struggles for independence, the abbey's position and wealth was repeatedly damaged by its Vögte, the lords of Grumbach (from 1243 the Counts of Rieneck).

In 1148, Marquard von Grumbach built Rothenfels Castle on abbey land contrary to the abbot's wishes, but with support from the bishop.

Emperor Charles IV supported the abbey, freeing it from the jurisdiction of the Würzburg Landgericht (court) and granted it a toll on the river Main.

[2] Making use of this, when abbot Martin Knödler refused to rebuild the church for financial reasons, Prince-bishop Julius Echter deposed him, appointing Prior Valentin Minor as administrator in 1615.

[2] A late flowering of the abbey and local arts and sciences came under abbot Bernhard Krieg (1703–29) who had many Baroque buildings in the area constructed.

The abbey's properties were given to Prince Konstantin von Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg in compensation for losses of territory west of the Rhine.

In 1907, what remained of the abbey buildings was taken over by nuns of the "Dominican Order of Saint Catherine of Siena" from South Africa.

The church was subsequently reconstructed based on plans by Heinrich Hübsch in Romanesque Revival style, by builders Friedrich Wießler and Wilhelm Sentjens, and rededicated in 1879.

[1]: 7  Despite the substantial changes made at that point to the medieval structure, the church is considered one of the most important Romanesque buildings in the region.

Father Riedmann, the priest at the time, had sold off various valuable Romanesque works of art to what is today the Mainfränkisches Museum at Würzburg (see Marienberg Fortress).

In return, the church received plaster casts of the pieces, financial support and two paintings loaned from the Pinakothek at Munich.

[1]: 9 Today, the church features numerous works of art, including Baroque altars and paintings, as well as late Romanesque reliefs/spolia and tombs from Gothic through Renaissance times.

In the post-World War II period, the Margarethenhof served as a local attraction, destination for day-trippers and site of festivities.